3 ms·
When microplastics break down they get smaller and become nanoplastics. Nanoplastics have been detected. Here is a paper that shows how to measure nanoplastic
by oever 3y ago
When microplastics break down they get smaller and become nanoplastics.
Nanoplastics have been detected.
Here is a paper that shows how to measure nanoplastics. Dilute solutions with polystyrene particles from 400nm down to 40nm were prepared and measured.
Demineralized water was put in a polystyrene cup. Microplastics were removed and the remaining nanoplastics were measured. A concentration of ~10^12 particles/l was found.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/en/d0en00951b https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/en/d0en0...
- gpt5 3y agoThey've been detected in a synthetic lab condition, but not in the wild.
- onion2k 3y agoIt'd be a bit weird if they weren't in the wild though, wouldn't it?
- gpt5 3y agoThe point is that their half life in the wild is so short that their presence is negligible.
- oever 3y agoIn the paper, the nanoplastics were measured in demineralized water that had been sitting in a regular disposable polystyrene cup (like the ones that people drink coffee from) for five minutes. So the measurement reflects the nanoplastics that one ingests when drinking a cup of coffee from a polystyrene cup. Because nanoplastics sizes are of the order of the wavelength of visible light, the particles were measured with fluorescence microscopy. Nanoplastics were also found in high concentrations in store bought plastic bottles of mineral water as well as in water that had been sitting in baby bottles.