
Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year - EL_Loco
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-may-be-ingesting-thousands-microplastics-every-year-180972370/
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dahfizz
Do we know much about the impact this has on our bodies?

This is certainly something to be concerned about, but without that context
it's hard to know what this really means.

The article says a "microplastic particle" is any peice of plastic smaller
than 5mm. That's bigger than some pills - I would definitely notice chewing on
something that size.

So how big are these really and what are they doing to me?

For reference, the US and EU both regulate that 10 micrograms per liter of
arsenic in drinking water is safe. Using my rusty high school chemistry
(please correct me if I'm wrong), this is on the order of ~10^20 particles
(atoms) of arsenic per year. That's _way way_ more than 100k and arsenic is
more inherently harmful to humans than plastic.

This could easily be genuine epidemic levels of awful, or it could be
completely nothing. Does anyone know more?

~~~
idDriven
> The article says a "microplastic particle" is any peice of plastic smaller
> than 5mm

I double checked the article and you are right, this is why the use of the
apothocary symbols are not used in medicine any more it should be "5 and 20 μm
polystyrene micro-particles elicited somewhat similar pathological and
physiological changes in mice. These, particularly the 5 μm micro-particles,
could be detected in histological sections of the gut, liver and kidney." The
symbol means micro or an order of a million times smaller than a gram/meter so
the particulate size appears misstated and is actually an order of 1000 times
smaller than a millimeter.

> This could easily be genuine epidemic levels of awful, or it could be
> completely nothing. Does anyone know more?

It has been shown microplastic contamination is very significant in plastic-
bottled single-use drinking water. Avoiding exposure as much as possible is
100% best medical advice, avoid drinking from single-use plastic bottles
whenever possible. An infographic from WHO:
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/03/16/study-...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/03/16/study-
finds-microplastics-in-93-percent-of-bottled-water-infographic/#44e1454073fa)

As for health effects microplastics definitely bioaccumulate in the gut, liver
and kidneys in mice. Mice are not human but as this is a basic physiology
issue it is very highly likely that they also bioaccumulate in humans. It is
not clear whether humans or mice can ever clear these particles, it is likely
they can damage these organs over time, they do cause biomarker and endocrine
changes short term. This can indicate damage, possible scaring and a
propensity to weight gain respectively. Also other unknown fun stuff. It is
probably dose-dependent so if you avoid single use plastic bottled water thats
key. The food supply issue (seafood) is less significant from a human health
standpoint.

Second
source:[https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.0006...](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2017.00063/full)

~~~
mrob
Microplastics were found in bottled water, but I see no evidence that they
actually came from the bottles, and I can't think of any mechanism that could
cause particles to break off from the insides of the bottle under normal
storage conditions. It seems more likely that they were already present in the
water when the bottles were filled.

~~~
idDriven
It's likely a result of the manufacturing process, at least partially. I found
the journal article the WHO pulled data from. Heres the abstract (I italicized
for emphasis):

Eleven globally sourced brands of bottled water, purchased in 19 locations in
nine different countries, were tested for microplastic contamination using
Nile Red tagging. Of the 259 total bottles processed, 93% showed some sign of
microplastic contamination. After accounting for possible background (lab)
contamination, an average of 10.4 microplastic particles >100 um in size per
liter of bottled water processed were found. Fragments were the most common
morphology (66%) followed by fibers. _Half of these particles were confirmed
to be polymeric in nature using FTIR spectroscopy with polypropylene being the
most common polymer type (54%), which matches a common plastic used for the
manufacture of bottle caps._ A small fraction of particles (4%) showed the
presence of industrial lubricants. While spectroscopic analysis of particles
smaller than 100 um was not possible, the adsorption of the Nile Red dye
indicates that these particles are most probably plastic. Including these
smaller particles (6.5–100 um), an average of 325 microplastic particles per
liter of bottled water was found. Microplastic contamination range of 0 to
over 10,000 microplastic particles per liter with 95% of particles being
between 6.5 and 100 um in size. _Data suggests the contamination is at least
partially coming from the packaging and /or the bottling process itself._
Given the prevalence of the consumption of bottled water across the globe, the
results of this study support the need for further studies on the impacts of
micro- and nano- plastics on human health.

URL:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/)

------
staunch
I'd be happy to buy virtually all my packaged food in recyclable glass
containers. I buy milk in bottles and return them for a refund and it's easy
enough.

Amazon could make this move happen pretty quickly with amazon.com and Whole
Foods. I'm sure there would be difficulties involved but they don't _seem_
insurmountable.

~~~
vuln
>shipping glass ... “difficulties”

Yeah I’m sure they’d lose a ton of money. Glass is heavy and expensive plus
the added liability of it breaking and a consumer reaching their hand inside.

~~~
bencollier49
We have milk delivered in glass bottles on our doorstep each morning. No
difficulties.

~~~
chrisco255
They still do this in some cities?

~~~
tfha
They do it in Boston, I'm sure most other major cities have access to glass
bottle milk delivery as well.

If I recall correctly, it's $2.50 extra per bottle for the glass but you get
$2.00 back if you return it on the next delivery.

~~~
philipps
What company/service are you using in Boston?

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refurb
Many time release drugs use plastics to accomplish it. Polymethacrilic acid is
a very common plastic used.

Regarded as safe since the plastic just gets excreted in the feces.

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remarkEon
Somewhat unrelated, but I really wish we could find a way to not be so reliant
on plastics.

I try to shop at local farmers markets (I'm willing to pay a small premium for
knowing exactly where my food is coming from), and even in those cases the guy
behind the table reflexively reaches for a plastic bag nearly every time. I
always bring my own canvas bags or a backpack, but this has become so
culturally ingrained in this country. Is it like this in Europe? I used to poo
poo attempts at restricting the use of straws and plastic single-use
containers, but now I'm warming up to the idea of outright dropping the ban
hammer. These things are gross and they end up in the gutters, and make cities
look dirty and poorly managed. We survived without them for a long time. We
should figure out a way to do so again.

~~~
devoply
> I really wish we could find a way to not be so reliant on plastics.

Aluminum and glass. We have ways, we only need the political will to mandate
their uses and discontinue plastics over a short period of say 10-20 years.

~~~
NikolaeVarius
Glass is heavy as shit and makes transportation require more energy.

~~~
devoply
Yet glass bottles are used everywhere from beer, wine, jellies, jams, etc.
etc. Transportation cost is not much of a real issue.

~~~
dghughes
The other problem is there is practically no incentive for any company to
recycle broken glass. It's heavy, sharp, and there's little demand for it.

It takes much more fuel to transport glass containers and once broken it isn't
recycled. Although glass is inert so in a landfill it isn't a problem I guess
that's an benefit.

------
strainer
Sooner or later it is likely that microbes which can digest plastics but are
currently extremely rare, will multiply, become common and evolve since we are
making plastic pollution increasingly common throughout soils and seas.

What will be the timescale and effect of a new category of microbes on earthly
micro-flora? In soils, in foodchains and within our own guts ? This
uncertainty presents an unpredictable biohazard. An intelligent population
having noticed its accidental emissions would try to limit and reduce them in
scale for its own and future generations biological security.

~~~
chrisco255
Plastics are not so abundant in the oceans or soils to support some kind of
biological takeover, assuming such microbes could evolve. This is
sensationalist speculation. [https://vinylverified.com/blog/2019/5/17/vinyl-
verified-resp...](https://vinylverified.com/blog/2019/5/17/vinyl-verified-
responds-to-flawed-irresponsible-australian-ocean-water-
study?gclid=CjwKCAjwlujnBRBlEiwAuWx4LZMx0PQcMa7riLyemMH0nAR11geomQ6pTnnnDcP03iCYwu2KQ2FmqhoCcCQQAvD_BwE)

~~~
aliteralrobot
This article doesn’t provide evidence for your claim that plastics are not so
abundant in the oceans, it only points out that a specific study that relied
on a false premise (that PVC is a high percentage or is well-represented in
ocean plastics) is flawed. It makes almost no mention of the abundance of
actual ocean plastics.

Did you link the wrong article or something?

~~~
chrisco255
You're the one with the extraordinary claim so you should be providing
extraordinary evidence.

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LargoLasskhyfv
The term is

[https://duckduckgo.com/?q=endocrine+disruptor](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=endocrine+disruptor)

Why don't you think about the implications of the stuff not only everywhere in
the environment, but as small (almost nano?) particles whith large surface,
releasing their shiny sparkles/oily smears/pick your poison into your innards.

It's got electrolytez!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vw2CrY9Igs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vw2CrY9Igs)

------
OrgNet
> Measuring less than five millimeters in length, microplastics derive from a
> variety of sources

wow, that is big... they can be almost 2/10 of an inch (I think I would choke
on that)

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z3t4
The waste we dump will eventually end up in our bodies. Earth is a closed-
loop, and we are on top of the food chain.

------
BooneJS
We watched this doc on Netflix the other day. It’s a combination of sad and
disgusting.

[https://www.netflix.com/title/80164032](https://www.netflix.com/title/80164032)

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
For everyone talking about the benefits of glass bottles, they have their own
dangers.

This study from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia showed that broken glass
bottles accounted for 15% of all lacerations in children (the largest single
cause) and broken glass bottles most frequently inflicted injuries resulting
in functional impairment or hospitalization

[https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-
abst...](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-
abstract/514953)

There may be a possible danger from plastic bottles over the long term, but
widespread glass bottle adoptions is going to result in a lot of lacerated
kids.

~~~
RandomInteger4
Not to mention that glass also has harmful chemicals that leach into the
contents of the glass containers. Same goes for metal.

~~~
rockinghigh
Do you have any links on the chemicals you're referring to and their danger?

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jdietrich
So? To quote the results of the paper, "the effects of consuming MPs on human
health are largely unknown".

I'm just not concerned about ingesting tiny quantities of something that
_might possibly_ be harmful, even though we've been looking really hard for
harms for quite a long time and haven't found anything of note. My environment
is full of stuff that we know to be definitely harmful - could we fix that
please, before we start worrying about stuff that might possibly be harmful?

~~~
tfha
It's good to know that modern practices are having wide reaching
contamination. The sources of ingestion may not be from where you expected and
may indicate that other more harmful things are being ingested as well.

