3 ms·

How does that compare to, for instance, the amount of silica-based sand and grit eaten every week? More or less in quantity? More or less in effects? I haven

How does that compare to, for instance, the amount of silica-based sand and grit eaten every week? More or less in quantity? More or less in effects? I haven't really seen any clear description of what microplastics _do_ to people. I could certainly believe it's harmful, but I could also believe it's a bit of a panic.

ggm 5y ago
Some plastics like bisphenol-A absolutely not a panic: its a real problem. it's been removed from food plastics in my economy because of significant concern of its effect on young kids, and so the citation of evidence of BPA contamination in breastfeeding bottles is a concern. Most of the soluble contamination is excreted. Some isn't. Some is fat soluble and so use of plastics in microwaves, with fat and sugary (hotspot) contents is a concern. Use of recycled plastics in PET bottles and the rise of bottled water is a concern because the leaching from this kind of plastic is higher. Some of this is at-source contamination. Use of plastic contaminated treated sewage water in farming is common. The water goes on the plants and can be directly absorbed (fresh leafy greens) or goes into the soil and is taken up by the root system and then enters seeds and roots. Some of this is post-farming contamination. Packaging, processing. Some of this is in-home contamination. Clothes washing liberates a huge amount of highly mobile plastic microwaste dust. We're shedding and breathing this all the time. It gets into our food because our food is in the same environment. But at root, I share your questions: better graphs on the primary high volume risk sources, how the distribute worldwide, would help enormously. We did this for lead contamination. We know how that works, we know how to test for, and sample for, and account for widescale lead contamination.

3 ms·

How does that compare to, for instance, the amount of silica-based sand and grit eaten every week? More or less in quantity? More or less in effects? I haven

by kbelder 5y ago

ggm 5y ago
Some plastics like bisphenol-A absolutely not a panic: its a real problem. it's been removed from food plastics in my economy because of significant concern of its effect on young kids, and so the citation of evidence of BPA contamination in breastfeeding bottles is a concern. Most of the soluble contamination is excreted. Some isn't. Some is fat soluble and so use of plastics in microwaves, with fat and sugary (hotspot) contents is a concern. Use of recycled plastics in PET bottles and the rise of bottled water is a concern because the leaching from this kind of plastic is higher. Some of this is at-source contamination. Use of plastic contaminated treated sewage water in farming is common. The water goes on the plants and can be directly absorbed (fresh leafy greens) or goes into the soil and is taken up by the root system and then enters seeds and roots. Some of this is post-farming contamination. Packaging, processing. Some of this is in-home contamination. Clothes washing liberates a huge amount of highly mobile plastic microwaste dust. We're shedding and breathing this all the time. It gets into our food because our food is in the same environment. But at root, I share your questions: better graphs on the primary high volume risk sources, how the distribute worldwide, would help enormously. We did this for lead contamination. We know how that works, we know how to test for, and sample for, and account for widescale lead contamination.