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Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

news.unl.edu

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Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#171

Post by Dah00n »

Vecr wrote: post #120
an_aparallel wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah - can you provide some more info about this? i use silcon trays - and i always thought they were too good to be true tbh

Silicone is plastic. Or at least a combination of synthetic polymers and probably dyes, if you don't agree with the definition of "plastic".

I read some (Danish?) research about soft squeezable drinking bottles, like those used by cyclists for example, and the result was pretty bad. Do you know if they use the same process / chemicals in silicone products?

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#172

Post by gattr »

mda wrote: post #165
Omin wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1,000,000,000ng is 1kg, so that'd would be as much plastic as solvent by mass.

1,000,000,000ng = 1g

@Omin, @mda, just a side note: I recommend using the (centuries old, I guess) established typography rule and putting a space between the number and the unit symbol. See [1] for additional info.

[1] SI Unit rules and style conventions, https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/checklist.html

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#173

Post by andrewstuart »

rlpb wrote: post #167
andrewstuart wrote: post #163

Do people actually do this - do people really hear up food in plastic containers? I suppose people generally aren’t concerned about this sort of stuff. People still eat off Teflon cookware, which I would never use.

Bottle fed babies are often fed using plastic bottles that are steam sterilised in the microwave.

Not my baby.

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#174

Post by Dah00n »

sgt wrote: post #150
netsharc wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I learnt a technique of poking holes in them and wrapping them in paper towels. Hopefully tiny pieces kitchen paper towels are safer to eat than nano plastic particles..

Now you gotta deal with nano paper particles in your blood stream.

Some day in some lab someone will find tiny origami in a blood sample.

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#175

Post by Dah00n »

n8cpdx wrote: post #4

> then heated them at full power for three minutes in a 1,000-watt microwave This seems like unrealistic use of a microwave. The liquids are likely boiling for well over a minute. Are people really boiling liquids in the containers they’re serving their infant children? I’m not especially plastic-phobic but I also don’t think a reasonable person would think it is a good idea to boil liquids in their children’s bottle…

Well, then think of frozen TV dinners. Lots of those are blasted for more than 3 minutters.

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#176

Post by chaxor »

chrisco255 wrote: post #98

I'm one of the most skeptical people when it comes to these types of claims. I think the effects are being exaggerated. However, I've recently begun to replace all plastic containers and dishware from my kitchen with stainless steel and glass. Drinks taste better in glass anyways, and steel is a good non-fragile alternative. And I cook in cast iron. It's almost impossible to avoid plastic, and I'm not religious about…

What about the heavy metals that are part of the cast iron and steel though? What about the heavy metals in ceramics? The list is pretty endless, but very specific types of glass (boron silicate or pyrex) and titanium can be good to switch to, as long as you are very careful about not getting lead or uranium glass.

Or you could just not buy that lead testing kit or Geiger counter and live in ignorant bliss. People lived without them for quite some time.

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#177

Post by Ekaros »

Dah00n wrote: post #159
Ekaros wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have wondered about carbon steel and cast iron for cooking. The common method is to "season" them for use. But that is done with fats and high heat? What is the stuff that forms? Is it also some type of polymer? It doesn't seem to survive acidic environment too well. So acids could break it down, is it actually safe to eat? Or something comparable to plastics?

I have no idea about this stuff but wouldn't it be fair to say that those ... byproducts.. haven't been found in humans, so at least it isn't comparable to plastics?

Or is it just not something we are searching and looking for.

Then again, maybe it goes under the known carcinogenic effects when food is cooked at high temperature.

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#178

Post by Dah00n »

DangerousPie wrote: post #138

Actual paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c01942 The real question is whether the exposure you'd receive from occasional microwaving would be enough to ever cause any meaningful health problems. Unfortunately papers like these always like to talk about dramatic metrics like 'billions of nanoplastics' without putting that into any meaningful context.

I guess that's because we don't know, yet. But the question is why let all those plastic particles into your baby if you could avoid it until we know better? A newborn today will likely live to know the result of some future research.

If in doubt shouldn't that be enough for at least a warning label?

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#179

Post by Dah00n »

tarcon wrote: post #73
esafak wrote: post #8

Oof how bad. Can they study dishwashing plastics next? Good thing I used glass. I think parents these days are rather more aware of plastic leaching than those of the previous generation.

The hot water in the dishwasher is flowing through plastic hoses and a plastic sprayer before it reaches the dishes.

But wouldn't most of the particles end up in the water and not stick to the dishes? It seems fine to me but.... yeah I don't know.

Re: Study finds billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving containers

#180

Post by Dah00n »

andrewstuart wrote: post #163

Do people actually do this - do people really hear up food in plastic containers? I suppose people generally aren’t concerned about this sort of stuff. People still eat off Teflon cookware, which I would never use.

Think frozen TV dinners. Plastic containers with plastic cover. Yikes, a lot of those are sold.
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