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Ready for another batch of "Scientists tracked down a mass killer of $SOMETHING"? See for example https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25431550 https://news.yco

Ready for another batch of "Scientists tracked down a mass killer of $SOMETHING"? See for example https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25431550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25431550

virtue3 6y ago
yeah... you're not wrong. Plastics are basically organic compounds and they screw around with organisms very easily. Tho asphalt is already made with bitumen (a petroleum product) so it's not like it's THAT much different. Hopefully we aren't concentrating even more problematic compounds than what already existing in the asphalt.
- gruez 6y ago
  >Tho asphalt is already made with bitumen (a petroleum product) so it's not like it's THAT much different. Plastics generate microplastics. Does bitumen generate microbitumen?
  - thatcat 6y ago
    Does bitumen bioaccumulate into food supplies? Why compare the two?
    - gilbetron 6y ago
      Here's one thesis that claims it probably does not: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/20366224.pdf https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/20366224.pdf
    - 8bitsrule 6y ago
      Ran into this interesting factoid a couple days back: "Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. Consisting of an estimated 10^16 tons of carbon, it is the most abundant source of organic compounds on earth, exceeding the total organic content of living matter 10,000-fold.... Petroleum and natural gas form from kerogen. Kerogen may be classified by its origin: lacustrine (e.g., algal), marine (e.g., planktonic), and terrestrial (e.g., pollen and spores).... Kerogen is insoluble in normal organic solvents in part because of its high molecular weight of its component compounds. The soluble portion is known as bitumen." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerogen] All from the same (previously locked-up) family of goodies, it seems.
    - refurb 6y ago
      Do microplastics bioaccumulate? Or at least in the sense that we think of bioaccumulation?
      - thatcat 6y ago
        Yea, it accumulates in the food chain.
  - notatoad 6y ago
    yes. the road surface is abraded as it's driven over, which creates oily dust. essentially "microbitumen". also, road usage already causes microplastic pollution in the form of tire wear, so while including plastic in the road surface might increase the overall volume of microplastic pollution, it won't increase the distribution of it - areas near roadways are already microplastic hotspots.
  - refurb 6y ago
    This is the right question. We talk about micro plastics, has anyone looked at concrete micro particles and the effects on humans? What about just the fine dust from top soil? What is the effect on humans? Reminds me a little bit when people get overly worried about keeping things clean without realizing everything is covered in bacteria that you ingest on a regular basis.

Ready for another batch of "Scientists tracked down a mass killer of $SOMETHING"? See for example https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25431550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25431550

virtue3 6y ago

yeah... you're not wrong. Plastics are basically organic compounds and they screw around with organisms very easily. Tho asphalt is already made with bitumen (a petroleum product) so it's not like it's THAT much different. Hopefully we aren't concentrating even more problematic compounds than what already existing in the asphalt.

gruez 6y ago
>Tho asphalt is already made with bitumen (a petroleum product) so it's not like it's THAT much different. Plastics generate microplastics. Does bitumen generate microbitumen?
- thatcat 6y ago
  Does bitumen bioaccumulate into food supplies? Why compare the two?
  - gilbetron 6y ago
    Here's one thesis that claims it probably does not: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/20366224.pdf https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/20366224.pdf
  - 8bitsrule 6y ago
    Ran into this interesting factoid a couple days back: "Kerogen is solid, insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rocks. Consisting of an estimated 10^16 tons of carbon, it is the most abundant source of organic compounds on earth, exceeding the total organic content of living matter 10,000-fold.... Petroleum and natural gas form from kerogen. Kerogen may be classified by its origin: lacustrine (e.g., algal), marine (e.g., planktonic), and terrestrial (e.g., pollen and spores).... Kerogen is insoluble in normal organic solvents in part because of its high molecular weight of its component compounds. The soluble portion is known as bitumen." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerogen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerogen] All from the same (previously locked-up) family of goodies, it seems.
  - refurb 6y ago
    Do microplastics bioaccumulate? Or at least in the sense that we think of bioaccumulation?
    - thatcat 6y ago
      Yea, it accumulates in the food chain.
- notatoad 6y ago
  yes. the road surface is abraded as it's driven over, which creates oily dust. essentially "microbitumen". also, road usage already causes microplastic pollution in the form of tire wear, so while including plastic in the road surface might increase the overall volume of microplastic pollution, it won't increase the distribution of it - areas near roadways are already microplastic hotspots.
- refurb 6y ago
  This is the right question. We talk about micro plastics, has anyone looked at concrete micro particles and the effects on humans? What about just the fine dust from top soil? What is the effect on humans? Reminds me a little bit when people get overly worried about keeping things clean without realizing everything is covered in bacteria that you ingest on a regular basis.