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Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

the-scientist.com

191–200 of 339 posts

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#191

Yes those N95 and other disposable masks people have been wearing for years are made of plastic. This is a great way to ingest nanoplastics.

N95 masks can be made from plastics, however to my knowledge there are not any masks on the market made of nanoplastic particles. Just as air filters are not polluting the air with massive clouds of nanoparticles your face mask is not filling your lungs with them.

no - but disposed of masks decompose via UV and mechanical means to particulates and get into the food hierarchy.

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#192

Convenient non-plastic solutions need to be developed. After learning about micro plastics and forever chemicals, I started to get paranoid of this stuff. Started cooking at home more and started removing plastic from my daily life. After my wife got pregnant, I keep telling her to avoid plastic, but she doesn't seem to take it seriously. She purchased plastic food containers, I tell her don't microwave food in it, b…

>replacements for stuff like plastic wraps

Beeswax food wraps work surprising well

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#193
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my favorite quotes is: "A problem is a challenge with a least one workable solution. A dilemma is challenge with multiple choices, all equally bad." If we eliminated all PFAS chemicals today, society would collapse. What's the point of eliminating PFAS chemicals to improve life expectancy if the very act of doing so would cause a famine?

> IF we eliminated all PFAS chemicals today, society would collapse. I think this is a failure of imagination. The modern world, largely as we appreciate it today, existed in 1940 in Europe and the U.S. That is well before the widespread deployment of plastics. It was a world in which everyone, including the very rich did with a little less but still, a fairly high quality of life. The only question that separates th…

In 1940, (with the exception of primitive point-contact radar diodes) there was no production of semiconductor devices.

Without PFAS there would be no production of modern electronic devices, so no computers and no mobile phones.

Nevertheless, unlike with PFAS used in things like clothes, kitchenware or packing, when PFAS are used in industrial processes or in electronic equipment (as high-frequency electrical insulators or in optical devices) it is much easier to avoid any pollution.

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#194

Convenient non-plastic solutions need to be developed. After learning about micro plastics and forever chemicals, I started to get paranoid of this stuff. Started cooking at home more and started removing plastic from my daily life. After my wife got pregnant, I keep telling her to avoid plastic, but she doesn't seem to take it seriously. She purchased plastic food containers, I tell her don't microwave food in it, b…

Make it easier for her by taking on the chores of washing them and preparing them. If you're insisting she do something differently, ask her if there is anything you could do to make it easier for her to do it -- since this is clearly a more important change for you than for her (at this time).

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#195
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my favorite quotes is: "A problem is a challenge with a least one workable solution. A dilemma is challenge with multiple choices, all equally bad." If we eliminated all PFAS chemicals today, society would collapse. What's the point of eliminating PFAS chemicals to improve life expectancy if the very act of doing so would cause a famine?

> IF we eliminated all PFAS chemicals today, society would collapse. I think this is a failure of imagination. The modern world, largely as we appreciate it today, existed in 1940 in Europe and the U.S. That is well before the widespread deployment of plastics. It was a world in which everyone, including the very rich did with a little less but still, a fairly high quality of life. The only question that separates th…

Synthetic chemistry in the 40s was like alchemy compared to the processes today. There are myriad chemical techniques and reactions that exist today, that didn't exist in the 40s, and you flat out can't do without fluoropolymers, because the reagents used are way too aggressive on virtually everything else.

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#196
post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you accurately price externalities without resolving them? If you spend a billion a year cleaning up plastic it's pretty simple math to spread that out over the cost of plastic products. On the other hand if you don't actually do anything to resolve it you are just guessing on what that costs and could be way over or under. This seems like "I want UBI" with a flimsy environmental justification.

You don’t need to accurately price them. You just gradually keep increasing the price year over year until the companies spin up R&D departments to switch to biodegradable sustainable alternatives, or their competitors do. You have to hit those corps in their pocketbook and affect their bottom line before they act. It’s the only thing they understand. As far as cleanup - forget it. We may be able to clean up the Grea…

That's not really taxing externalities. Biodegradable solutions likely have externalities of their own at scale. In less words this solution is "tax corporations that make plastic a lot and distribute the funds to the citizens leaving the mess behind for future generations". It isn't as noble when put that way.

It you on the other hand took those funds and used them for environmental clean up, recycling programs, etc I'd be on board. Consumers should pay for the disposal of what they consumed.

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't lacquer technically a sort of plastic? I could find images for Indian Brass Container to learn what it is. But I didn't find anything conclusive for Korean steel.

Lacquer is resin from trees, not plastic. I don't know if it's better for you than plastic or really anything about its chemical composition, but it's not plastic. Edit: After reading more, there is an acrylic lacquer that was developed in the 1950s that contains plastics, but outside of that, normal or traditional lacquers are typically biological in origin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacquer

When you say "normal", does that mean "common"? As in, if I buy lacquered wood, can I expect it to be synthetic or biological? Is there a way to tell, or do you just have to trust the source?

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No they're not. It's an epoxy resin, not plastic. It's BPA.

So, a plastic then? Edit after light scolding by commenter below: BPA is a form of plastic, both in the pedantic sense (it's formed ... plastically... into its product shape) but more importantly in the colloquial sense, "synthetic, plasticky material" and in this general thread "synthetic material with harmful effects on health, probably through hormonal disruption". So, yes, BPA is a resin, it's also a plastic, and…

BPA is not a plastic. BPA is not a resin.

It is a precursor to resins and plastics, the same way that water is a precursor to sea water but is not the same thing, even though sea water is 96% water by weight.

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#199
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coke in "aluminum" is actually coke in plastic; the cans are lined.

I think they're talking about McDonalds which uses stainless steel tanks for delivery. I'm pretty sure those aren't lined with plastic.

I would think if they had meant "stainless steel" they would have said so, rather than "aluminum".

Re: Nanoplastic Ingestion Causes Neurological Deficits

#200

Convenient non-plastic solutions need to be developed. After learning about micro plastics and forever chemicals, I started to get paranoid of this stuff. Started cooking at home more and started removing plastic from my daily life. After my wife got pregnant, I keep telling her to avoid plastic, but she doesn't seem to take it seriously. She purchased plastic food containers, I tell her don't microwave food in it, b…

> Convenient non-plastic solutions need to be developed.

PFAS coated paper?

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