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Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

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Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#51

Post by lukan »

krick wrote: post #49
bluSCALE4 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From clothing? Do you have any idea how prevalent it's become? It is hard/impossible to find clothes without traces of plastic.

Traces? I'm really puzzled by this thread, meaning I don't really understand what do people mean by plastics. I would guess it's all synthetic fabrics, but then the gp proposition is so nuts it's surprising someone even discusses it. Like, all sportswear is synthetic, and you cannot replace it with any old-fashioned fabrics, because synthetics are simply better. It isn't even the right word, it's like saying you must…

"were wearing wool, wood and leather and somehow even managed to do something like mountaineering"

Serious mountaineering is still done with merino wool.

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#52

Post by pushupentry1219 »

seper8 wrote: post #33

People, get air filters inside of your house and especially your bedroom. Anything with a HEPA filter. I personally have a Winix and a dyson fan, quite happy with it. You'll be surprised what it picks up over time, and consequently what you end up not inhaling...

Are these filters sufficient to filter out microplastics?

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#54

Post by lukan »

glial wrote: post #18
Night_Thastus wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they're stating either - just that it's pretty impractical to remove plastic from clothing at this point.

As another commenter pointed out, you could (and people surely did) make the same argument about lead or asbestos. That alone doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.

We have clear evidence that asbestos and lead are very harmful.

I don't think we have that evidence for plastic (yet).

Also you totally can start buying plastic free clothes here and now. Just more expensive usually.

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#55

Post by FrankoDelMar »

ninininino wrote: post #39
Night_Thastus wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they're stating either - just that it's pretty impractical to remove plastic from clothing at this point.

It's extremely practical. We have cotton, linen, and wool as great amazing fabrics. Drawstrings replace elastic.

I do hate fast fashion, but I can think of many exceptions where natural fibers won't cut it. There is no natural fabric product on the market that can properly replace lightweight, waterproof clothing. Waxed cotton is waterproof but heavy. Rubber is not breathable. Technical synthetics like Goretex have its issues (low durability, high cost, coated with PFAS), but it sure beats getting hypothermia.

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#56

Post by wlesieutre »

eurekin wrote: post #36
jenadine wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but it could also be totally innert and not have any measurable negative effect. Who knows?

Bisphenol A have a carbon ring structure that resembles hormones like the estrogen. It can bind to the estrogen receptors and potentially increase risk of hormone related cancers.

Don't worry, we got rid of BPAs and replaced them with substitutes that probably do the same thing!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6387873/

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#57

Post by aggie »

Microplastics seem bad. The evidence of adverse effects seems marginal. But in the bigger picture, plastics provide enormous wealth to the world. We should look for ways to mitigate any adverse environmental effects, of course, but it's not at all obvious to me that the ROI of doing so in my personal life is positive.

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#58

Post by londons_explore »

simonh wrote: post #40
maltyr wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick search led me to this review, which has a number of studies linked in references, including a few that studied humans. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9885170/ Quote from the abstract: The direct consequences of MPs and NPs on the thyroid, testis, and ovaries are documented. Still, studies need to be carried out to identify the direct effects of MPs and NPs on the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adr…

Disappointingly nothing in that study relates these health impacts to known levels of microplastics in humans. That means there’s no way to tell, from that study, if the levels of microplastics to be found in you and me are likely to have material impact. I definitely feel we should be more serious about reducing use of plastics, especially for uses likely to contribute to microplastic levels, but it’s going to be ha…

One doesn't reduce the use of plastics without using something else as a replacement.

If we replace all plastic cups with glass cups, might we get micro-glass inside ourselves instead?

Glass, mostly silicon dioxide, might sound harmless, but glass can chip off in microscopic sharp fragments (think fiberglass dust - which some suggest might be as bad as asbestos). Glass also slightly dissolves in water (this is how glasses start to look frosty after enough dishwashing - they're dissolving), and slightly evaporates (everything has a vapour pressure!). And obviously the glass isn't pure - there can be all kinds of deliberate and accidental additives.

Am I worried about glass? No. But it seems naive to wholesale replace plastic with something else until there is a decent understanding of the replacement.

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#59

Post by colechristensen »

cube2222 wrote: post #7

Does someone have good papers on the negative effects of microplastics (ideally on humans)? A while back I tried to look for those, and it was nontrivial to find papers that would conclusively show that they are harmful, and the mechanisms of this harmfulness. There's a ton of press about where they are (everywhere) but (as a layman) you could argue it's because they're not very reactive, and this lack of reactivity…

You can back that question up one level to "what are the biological effects of plastics?"

And the answer is, broadly, they mimic hormones. Compounds in plastics can activate endocrine receptors because they are similar enough to hormones which are more or less everywhere across the animal kingdom.

Sometimes it can be hard to pin down the specific negative effects in isolation, but there are some pretty clear metrics.

"A review of the endocrine disrupting effects of micro and nano plastic and their associated chemicals in mammals" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9885170/

Re: Microplastics in the olfactory bulb of the human brain

#60

Post by stroupwaffle »

seper8 wrote: post #33

People, get air filters inside of your house and especially your bedroom. Anything with a HEPA filter. I personally have a Winix and a dyson fan, quite happy with it. You'll be surprised what it picks up over time, and consequently what you end up not inhaling...

Everything is made of plastic now though including those fuzzy blankets and pillows people love.
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