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Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

phys.org

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Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#11

Post by funstuff007 »

decasteve wrote: post #9

Clothing is mostly plastic fibre nowadays. Upholstery fibres too. Walls are painted with acrylic paint. Flooring is often made of various plastics. I assume the dust in our homes that we breathe in contains relatively a lot of plastic. Containers for food are almost entirely plastic. I’m interested in these sorts of studies on the topic.

> Clothing is mostly plastic fibre nowadays.

I think that's true primarily for athleisure. That being said, it's a very large segment of the market. I was recently in Banana Republic and it was quite hard to find a pair of pants one would want to wear outside of the house.

Some what related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU55auqDD28

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#12

Post by amelius »

decasteve wrote: post #9

Clothing is mostly plastic fibre nowadays. Upholstery fibres too. Walls are painted with acrylic paint. Flooring is often made of various plastics. I assume the dust in our homes that we breathe in contains relatively a lot of plastic. Containers for food are almost entirely plastic. I’m interested in these sorts of studies on the topic.

They should test the blood of, say, Amish people for comparison.

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#13

Post by refurb »

giantg2 wrote: post #8
refurb wrote: post #6

Considering we’ve been implanting plastic parts (joints, heart valves, Central lines) and using plastic IV lines, syringes, IV bags, etc, all of which need to go through safety trials, I’m not too concerned that there is some massive unseen safety risk here. If it wasn’t plastics it would likely be glass. And there are millions of acre of fine powdered glass all over the world that we breath in (sand).

I hope you're not breathing it in with any measureable amount. That can cause silicosis.

Ever go to the beach? You’re breathing in sand.

The dose makes the poison.

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#14

Post by amatic »

refurb wrote: post #6

Considering we’ve been implanting plastic parts (joints, heart valves, Central lines) and using plastic IV lines, syringes, IV bags, etc, all of which need to go through safety trials, I’m not too concerned that there is some massive unseen safety risk here. If it wasn’t plastics it would likely be glass. And there are millions of acre of fine powdered glass all over the world that we breath in (sand).

That hope that is true. All of this plastic might just be inert and not cause any damage. Who knows how long have people been having microplastics in their bloodstream. Decades? It is just that no one tested for it.

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#16

Post by pibechorro »

psacawa wrote: post #2

I'm constantly worried that despite the increased understanding we have relative to past generations, the increasing scope of our technological interventions means that global catastrophes seem more likely to occur relative to the past. [0] Look at the convulsions we need to go through to address climate change politically, and realize that it is only one of maybe a thousand potential grave threats, each of which pit…

I would argue that doomer is a waste of time. Time to be a prepper and realign our relationship to the planet. We could go on and on about climate doom, etc, but the most productive thing we can do is expect change, not apocalypse, and adjust.

Lead by example. Everyone reading this can go full wind and solar. Can stop driving or drastically cut it down (move closer, use public transport, work remote, etc). We can all grow food in our backyards, or living room, we can all participate in local garden coops etc. We can all refuse to take part in wars, buying new cell phones every year, wearing synthetic fibers that lead to microplastics, etc.

If we, the ones who know and care dont take action today, by example, who will?

Que excuses in 1, 2, 3...

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#17

Post by DoingIsLearning »

amelius wrote: post #12
decasteve wrote: post #9

Clothing is mostly plastic fibre nowadays. Upholstery fibres too. Walls are painted with acrylic paint. Flooring is often made of various plastics. I assume the dust in our homes that we breathe in contains relatively a lot of plastic. Containers for food are almost entirely plastic. I’m interested in these sorts of studies on the topic.

They should test the blood of, say, Amish people for comparison.

I can't find the quote now but that is actually one of the issues with PFAS studies. They couldn't find people they could use as a control group.

Literally everyone has it in their body, even in very remote regions.

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#18

Post by milansm »

pibechorro wrote: post #16
psacawa wrote: post #2

I'm constantly worried that despite the increased understanding we have relative to past generations, the increasing scope of our technological interventions means that global catastrophes seem more likely to occur relative to the past. [0] Look at the convulsions we need to go through to address climate change politically, and realize that it is only one of maybe a thousand potential grave threats, each of which pit…

I would argue that doomer is a waste of time. Time to be a prepper and realign our relationship to the planet. We could go on and on about climate doom, etc, but the most productive thing we can do is expect change, not apocalypse, and adjust. Lead by example. Everyone reading this can go full wind and solar. Can stop driving or drastically cut it down (move closer, use public transport, work remote, etc). We can all…

This is exactly what I’ll try to change in next 5 years. Have a sustainable baseline: my own food (or at least 50% of it, other 50% locally grown within ~10km) and energy independent (for heating and cooking), and treat everything else as a luxury that can perish any time now. I don’t want to give up my remote work, car and (occasional) luxury vacation, but would love to be able to sustain myself without it. Current life-style (apartment, frequent food orders, total dependency on the power grid) is a ticking time bomb (which might not go off in my lifetime) and feels like all-or-nothing gamble.

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#19

Post by CryptoPunk »

psacawa wrote: post #2

I'm constantly worried that despite the increased understanding we have relative to past generations, the increasing scope of our technological interventions means that global catastrophes seem more likely to occur relative to the past. [0] Look at the convulsions we need to go through to address climate change politically, and realize that it is only one of maybe a thousand potential grave threats, each of which pit…

My biggest concern is nuclear war. The death it would unleash would make the COVID pandemic seem like an afternoon picnic, and it would all happen in a frighteningly short period of time. 4pm war starts. 5pm most of the people you know are dead. This comes, far as I'm concerned, close to the end of the world, and shouldn't be impossible, yet it isn't by a long shot.

My second biggest concern is the rapid loss of natural habitats and the concomitant loss of biodiversity.

Re: Scientists find microplastics in blood for first time

#20

Post by AQuantized »

psacawa wrote: post #2

I'm constantly worried that despite the increased understanding we have relative to past generations, the increasing scope of our technological interventions means that global catastrophes seem more likely to occur relative to the past. [0] Look at the convulsions we need to go through to address climate change politically, and realize that it is only one of maybe a thousand potential grave threats, each of which pit…

The current ability to produce so much food in the developed world using modern fertilizer and methods, despite their disadvantages, means the most common threat that challenged our ancestors (famine) is barely present in many countries where it was a continual threat since civilization developed. Only global warming and nuclear war pose a similar threat, and only the former is worse now than it has been in the past, even given present circumstance.
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