3 ms·

People eat at least 50k plastic particles a year, study finds

35 points by sahin-boydas 7y ago

stareatgoats 7y ago
> Health effects of ingestion of microplastics via food, water and breathing still unknown Whether there are health effects or not, this is one of many areas where we are waking up to the effects of previous callousness towards nature, or a view of it as an infinite dumping ground for pure waste or other side effects of our ever expanding civilization. There are more or less feeble attempts at limiting the accumulation of hazardous waste, case in point the vast difference between the rhetoric regarding CO2 emissions vs actual practice. But CO2 is but one such ingredient, anyone following this area will be aware of the massive number of chemical substances that we are naively still allowing into the environment, hoping that the health effects will be negligible, or if not, we will be able to discover such effects before it is too late. It has got to stop. The precautionary principle needs to be introduced, the need for business as such devalued, and zero-emission to be the ideal. Of course there are multiple borderline cases and definition issues, but it does not detract from the need to change course, radically.
merricksb 7y ago
Different article about same study, discussed 9 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20129087 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20129087 (129 points, 85 comments)
geniium 7y ago
Am totally not surprised about the study result. Why? Cause we have plastic everywhere around us. From food boxes, to gadgets and clothes, the list is long. Why do you want to use petrol as your main food container? That's a non sense. Plastic are toxic and therefor should not be used as food container. The choice is historical, it was easier to manipulate and produce these cheap boxes with plastic than with wood or metal. Because that was the alternative earlier. Am happy people start to realise this and see the industry pivot in a more ecologically and healthy direction.

35 points by sahin-boydas 7y ago

> Health effects of ingestion of microplastics via food, water and breathing still unknown Whether there are health effects or not, this is one of many areas where we are waking up to the effects of previous callousness towards nature, or a view of it as an infinite dumping ground for pure waste or other side effects of our ever expanding civilization. There are more or less feeble attempts at limiting the accumulation of hazardous waste, case in point the vast difference between the rhetoric regarding CO2 emissions vs actual practice. But CO2 is but one such ingredient, anyone following this area will be aware of the massive number of chemical substances that we are naively still allowing into the environment, hoping that the health effects will be negligible, or if not, we will be able to discover such effects before it is too late. It has got to stop. The precautionary principle needs to be introduced, the need for business as such devalued, and zero-emission to be the ideal. Of course there are multiple borderline cases and definition issues, but it does not detract from the need to change course, radically.

merricksb 7y ago

Different article about same study, discussed 9 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20129087 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20129087 (129 points, 85 comments)

geniium 7y ago

Am totally not surprised about the study result. Why? Cause we have plastic everywhere around us. From food boxes, to gadgets and clothes, the list is long. Why do you want to use petrol as your main food container? That's a non sense. Plastic are toxic and therefor should not be used as food container. The choice is historical, it was easier to manipulate and produce these cheap boxes with plastic than with wood or metal. Because that was the alternative earlier. Am happy people start to realise this and see the industry pivot in a more ecologically and healthy direction.