The Microplastic Invasion: microplastics can cross placental and brain barriers.

[Bocco]

You'll need to read this article at the web page
The Microplastic Invasion: 12 Ways to Minimize Your Exposure

But here are a few examples.

• Microplastic contamination is a monumental environmental and health issue with serious consequences.
• Micro and nanoplastics have found their way into just about every nook and cranny on land, sea, air, human and animal bodies. It’s in our food and the water we drink, particularly bottled water.
• It’s now being implicated in a wide range of human disease processes from cancer to heart disease and neurological conditions.

Plastic. It’s ubiquitous. From mountain tops to ocean depths, it’s a part of our everyday lives. Plastic pollution is so widespread now that scientists are dubbing this period in history the “Plasticene Age.”

Researchers recently reported the presence of around 240,000 tiny pieces of microplastics in a 1-liter bottle of water. This is 10 to 100 times more than previous studies, which focused on larger particles of plastic.

Bottle-fed babies are at high risk of exposure to microplastics from baby bottles, but they’ve also been found in breast milk. And, let’s not forget older children who often drink from plastic bottles and pouches.

Microplastics have now been found in our blood, showing they can travel around the body, potentially ending up lodged in our organs.


They can even cross the blood-brain barrier through a process known as transcytosis, where particles can move through lipid (fat) layers like we have in our cell membranes, without being engulfed and destroyed by the cell they’re crossing.


Once in the brain, they’ve been shown in mice to cause cognitive changes similar to those seen in dementia patients.

 

[Nathan]

Yep, it's a mess. No getting away from the plastic pollution, at least not until humans have been extinct for a few thousand years.

 

[Devi]

We even switched what salt we use. Since regular sea salt may have plastics in it, we're now using Himalayan salt, which is delicious and, because it comes from far above the oceans, does not have the microplastics in it.

Yes, I guess it could be argued that, at one time, the Himalayas may have been on the ocean floor (???), but even if that were true, it would have been long, long before the invention of plastic.

 

[Nathan]

+1 for Himalayan salt.

 

[Paco Dennis]

Internet search :

There's evidence suggesting that ingested microplastics could lead to metabolic disruption, immune dysfunction, and even chronic inflammation which is linked to cancer.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

That plastic particles have been found in blood, placentas and even breast milk is very disturbing. Before seeing this thread, I read about the particles being found in bottled water. Now I read that they are also in tap water, which I guess shouldn't surprise me. This article claims that boiling water reduces the amount of those particles.
ivescience.com/health/boiling-tap-water-can-remove-nearly-90-percent-of-microplastics-new-study-finds

 

[Bocco]

reduces the amount of those particles

It doesn't magically reduce them. Basically minerals in some tap water can capture tiny plastic particles when the water is boiled, making them easier to filter away, according to a new study.

So, the plastic and other junk is still there. You have to filter it out. Boiling it causes the minerals to capture the plastic, but you then still have to run it through a filter.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

It doesn't magically reduce them. Basically minerals in some tap water can capture tiny plastic particles when the water is boiled, making them easier to filter away, according to a new study.

So, the plastic and other junk is still there. You have to filter it out. Boiling it causes the minerals to capture the plastic, but you then still have to run it through a filter.

Thank you Bocco. I wondered about that. I use a Brita pitcher to filter the water.

 

[Bocco]

Thank you Bocco. I wondered about that. I use a Brita pitcher to filter the water.

I use one too, but I'm not about to boil it before I put it in the pitcher. I just checked on line and found that Brita has a Elite filter that is supposed to take out microplastics. I have only been buying the standard filters at Walmart. But Walmart also has the Elite filters. They cost a lot more. Walmart has a 6 pack of standard filters for $29.68 and a 2 pack of Elite filters for $31.49 Here is the web site that I got the information from:
Do Brita Filters Remove Microplastics? (What to Know 2024)

 

[VintageBetter]

I'm curious as to why that list of 12 things doesn't recommended removing wall-to-wall carpeting? Most of our carpets are synthetics. Doesn't friction cause them to release microplastics?

 

[OneEyedDiva]

I use one too, but I'm not about to boil it before I put it in the pitcher. I just checked on line and found that Brita has a Elite filter that is supposed to take out microplastics. I have only been buying the standard filters at Walmart. But Walmart also has the Elite filters. They cost a lot more. Walmart has a 6 pack of standard filters for $29.68 and a 2 pack of Elite filters for $31.49 Here is the web site that I got the information from:
Do Brita Filters Remove Microplastics? (What to Know 2024)

Thank you gain for this excellent information! I've been buying my filters from Costco and get 10 filters when they are on sale, probably for not much more than you pay for 6. According to Costco's website, they're selling a box of 4 Elites for $50. But they charge more for products purchased online (without counting the shipping).

I noticed that boiling water before filtering alters the taste, not necessarily in a good way. But I might do that anyway until I can get the Elite filters. I still have about 5 of the regular ones left.

 

[Bocco]

I just went to Walmart this morning. A box of just one standard filter was $7.88
A box of just one Elite filter was $19.88.
I just checked on Amazon and they have a 2 pack for $31.49 ($15.75 each)
They also have an off brand one Aqua Crest for $26.99 ($13.50 each)

I have prime so I get free shipping but they still charge me tax.

 

[Bocco]

I'm curious as to why that list of 12 things doesn't recommended removing wall-to-wall carpeting? Most of our carpets are synthetics. Doesn't friction cause them to release microplastics?

Probably. There are probably 100 more things we can do. Plain wood floors or tile would be better.

 

[Alizerine]

We even switched what salt we use. Since regular sea salt may have plastics in it, we're now using Himalayan salt, which is delicious and, because it comes from far above the oceans, does not have the microplastics in it.

Yes, I guess it could be argued that, at one time, the Himalayas may have been on the ocean floor (???), but even if that were true, it would have been long, long before the invention of plastic.

The Himalayan salt I have is packaged in plastic.

 

[Jules]

The Himalayan salt I have is packaged in plastic.

If it and everything else were packaged in glass, then the cost of shipping would skyrocket because of weight and more space needed for packaging. Sometimes we have to accept which of the evils we want.

 

[StarSong]

That plastic particles have been found in blood, placentas and even breast milk is very disturbing. Before seeing this thread, I read about the particles being found in bottled water. Now I read that they are also in tap water, which I guess shouldn't surprise me. This article claims that boiling water reduces the amount of those particles.
livescience.com/health/boiling-tap-water-can-remove-nearly-90-percent-of-microplastics-new-study-finds

If boiling water reduces the amount of those particles, since they can't magically disappear they must be aerosolized with the steam, meaning they'll be floating in the air in our homes. Not sure I like the idea of breathing them in any better than drinking them in.

I do like the idea of using coffee filters though. Thanks for the link.

 

[StarSong]

If it and everything else were packaged in glass, then the cost of shipping would skyrocket because of weight and more space needed for packaging. Sometimes we have to accept which of the evils we want.

They could be sealed in heavyweight paper bags, waxed paper or cardboard. Remember our childhood cereal packaging? Waxed paper inner bags. Salt came in cardboard rounds or boxes. Soda came in recyclable deposit bottles, with a high enough deposit to ensure we brought the bottles back.

Before "Baggies" (remember the foldover tops - pre ziplocks?) became commonplace, packed lunches used waxed paper and aluminum foil and paper bags or metal lunch boxes.

I shudder at the amount of medical waste we take for granted. Virtually everything used in hospital patient care is now single-use only, including scissors that never touch the patient. Our wastefulness is out of control.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

If boiling water reduces the amount of those particles, since they can't magically disappear they must be aerosolized with the steam, meaning they'll be floating in the air in our homes. Not sure I like the idea of breathing them in any better than drinking them in.

I do like the idea of using coffee filters though. Thanks for the link.

You're welcome, of course Star.

 

[Sciguy]

I have been an environmental scientist going on 40 years, so I hope I can throw in my two cents worth.

While my area of study has been drinking water contamination, nanoplastics and microplastics (NMPs) are relatively new on the radar.

The latest study I’ve seen (that someone already referenced) suggests that boiling AND filtering can remove up to 90% of the NMPs.

Boiling simply allowed the NMPs to bind to the minerals in the water. The water must still be filtered.

Personally, I only find boiling effective for removing pathogens like coliform bacteria. I would just use a filter that specifically states it can address NMPs.

Most of these filters contain a paper element and activated carbon. I don’t know if this applies in countries other than the US, but I would suggest looking for one certified by the NSF (formerly the National Sanitation Foundation).

 

[Aunt Mavis]

And yet people think they’re special because they bring a reusable bag to the grocery store. Lol.

 

[StarSong]

And yet people think they’re special because they bring a reusable bag to the grocery store. Lol.

At least they're trying. It's astonishing how many people buy bags every time they grocery shop.

(I put the groceries back in my cart after checking out and unload them into 3 laundry baskets that live in my trunk. As I unload the cart I separate the groceries by type, unload the baskets and empty them, then put them back in the trunk for next time. Been doing this for many years.)

 

[papa tiger]

Wait one, do Himalayan's pee & crap on rocks thus contaminating the areas around the Salt mines.
You know slaves to the mines never getting out the entrance except on religious holidays. It looks
like a Shat Brick lined Mine to me.

Man's been there a long time, it's gotta be screwed up.

A wise old Natural American Indian once said,
"Before white man, women did all the work, brave hunted and played war games of tag. There were no
Taxes on profits, only trade goods used. Horse bought Wives and strength came from warrior reputations.
Only the White man could screw that up." ... ...

Making biosolids into bricks "is a practical and sustainable proposal for recycling all the leftover biosolids worldwide," the team write in their new paper.

"Utilizations of only 15 percent of biosolids in brick production would reduce the carbon footprint of brick manufacturing whilst satisfying all the environmental and engineering requirements for bricks."

 

[caramel]

I saw this on the internet and remembered seeing this thread. It's a bit over my head but I think that they're developing microplastics that degrade in 7 months.

Rapid biodegradation of microplastics generated from bio-based thermoplastic polyurethane - Scientific Reports