Current research on microplastics is the stuff of nightmares-
They’re dangerous, they’re spread through our food, they're in the air... they’re everywhere
Thread 1/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
Much of the research is trapped behind paywalls, and only reported on in a limited, fragmented pattern
-like so much else when large corporations cause environmental damage and impose widespread health impacts on the public
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#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
The growing risks of microplastics are a direct function of an ongoing push by the same sociopathic corporations that are driving the climate crisis
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#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
cnbc.com/2022/01/29/how…
'microplastics have been shown to interact with a wide array of contaminants, including pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and antibiotics, and may act as a vector for contaminant transfer in terrestrial environments'
4/x
#health
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
'microplastic pollution might also exert deleterious effects, modifying (i) the exposure to pathogens (e.g., multi-drug resistant bacteria) & (ii) the dynamics of vector-borne diseases... potentially promoting the (re)emergence of infectious diseases'
5/x
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
'We also found that exposure to [Polystyrene-Nanoplastics] and [Polystyrene-Microplastics] induced oxidative stress and the development of inflammation.'
6/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Some microplastics ‘are able to act as vectors for pathogens and are referred to as a “cocktail of contaminants” due to their association with heavy metals, plastic additives or other persistent organic pollutants'
7/x
#health #PlasticPollution #food
nature.com/articles/s4159…
‘Small plastic particles (<150 μm) can be absorbed by biota tissue, organs, and even cells, causing adverse effects on human health'
8/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
'Microplastics may pose acute and (sub) chronic toxicity, carcinogenicity, and developmental toxicity.'
9/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
'Nanoplastics may pose chronic toxicity (cardiovascular toxicity, hepatotoxicity, and neurotoxicity), genotoxicity, and developmental toxicity.’
10/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘The atmosphere is one of the main pathways for microplastic transport…. airborne [microplastics] should be treated as a recognized pollutant for long-term monitoring’
11/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Plastics have ‘extraordinarily high bio-persistence’ and ‘likely high bio-persistence in the lung. Due to bio-persistence accumulation of [microplastics] in the organism, leading to chronic exposure’
12/x
#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Diseases like pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung disease, chronic bronchitis, and cancer of the lung and bowel might be associated with microplastics. These diseases are prevalent in exposed workers of the flocking and VC/PVC industry.
13/x
#health
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘There are also [microplastic]-associated diseases reported in secondary organs. Interactions of human red blood cells with polystyrene [microplastics] led to blood cell aggregation and attachment to endothelial cells in vitro'
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#health #Plastics
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘In rats, injection of polystyrene microspheres led to vascular occlusions, inflammation, and pulmonary embolism’
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#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘microplastic pollution in agricultural soils cannot be neglected. Microplastics in agricultural soils could cause unknown effects on farm ecosystems and food security’
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#health #PlasticPollution #food #Agtwitter #farming
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Plastic products are ‘widely used in agricultural practices including cultivation, fertilization, and plastic mulching'
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#health #ClimateCrisis #PlasticPollution #food #farming #AgTwitter #soil
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘After being exposed to light, combined with mechanical forces like tillage practices, they fragmented into microplastics and entered into agricultural soils’
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#health #farming #soil #PlasticPollution #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘For example, high abundance of microplastics has been found in several sites of China, such as agricultural soils in Xinjiang’
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#health #farming #Agtwitter #PlasticPollution #food #soil
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Besides mulch films, compost is widely applied to improve soil fertility. The high concentration of plastics (1.20 g/kg) detected in the compost implied an important pathway for microplastics entering agricultural soils'
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#health #food #farming #soil
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Owing to the low efficiency of removing small plastic particles in most wastewater treatment plants, large quantities of microplastics are retained in sewage sludge and wastewater'
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#food #farming #PlasticPollution #agriculture #foodblogger
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘from the soil samples collected in eight agricultural fields located in the east of Spain with application of sewage sludge, the amount of light and heavy density microplastics reached 2130 ± 950 items/kg and 3060 ± 1680 items/kg respectively’
22/x
#food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Several studies have shown the ingestion of microplastics could decrease the growth rate and cause weight loss of earthworms, decrease the survival rate and body length of nematodes, and cause the reduction of collembolan growth’
23/x
#plastics #soil
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Soil fauna plays an important role in maintaining soil health and biodiversity’
Microplastics ‘can be ingested by soil animals, and induce fake satiety, weak nutrition supply, oxidative stress, intestinal damages and other adverse effects.’
24/x
#Soil
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Our current opinion is that [microplastics] can mutually act with soil animals in agricultural ecosystems. The ecological & health risks of [microplastics] associated with soil ecosystems need serious considerations & further research in the future’
25/x
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Urban dust and civil runoff could represent a critical diffuse source of MPs [microplastics] in urban areas... Several studies indicated that Tyre and Road Wear Particulates could be an important source of MPs pollution.’
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#soil #water #Plastic
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Particles <10 μm have been found in fruits and vegetables commonly consumed by humans with worrying values.’
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#health #foodblog #foodblogger #food
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Several ‘studies demonstrated that the exposition of roots to nanoplastics or particles associated with heavy metals could influence plants' mineral element absorption and distribution, reducing the nutritive value’
28/x
#food #health
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Unfortunately, [microplastics] have been founded in the all environments and media include air, water resources, sediments, and soil.’
29/x
#PlasticPollution #health #soil #water
degruyter.com/document/doi/1…
‘[Microplastics (MPs)] have also been detected in food and processing products like tuna. MPs can be ingested by marine organisms such as zooplankton, fish and birds’
30/x
#health #food #fishing #fish
degruyter.com/document/doi/1…
‘We also estimated human daily intake considering the worldwide contamination of commercial fish muscle ranged from 0.016 items/g muscle of fish to 6.06 items/g muscle of fish.’
31/x
#health #food #fishing #fish
degruyter.com/document/doi/1…
Microplastics were 'found in 56.5% of the commercial fish samples analysed... As fish is used in human food table across the world, they constitute a long-term exposure route for all humans & raise the concern about the potential public health risk'
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degruyter.com/document/doi/1…
‘Microplastics (MPs) enriched more bacterial pathogens than the surrounding water.
Food chain disruption, coral albinism, & immune response are main ecological impacts.'
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#oceans #plastics #pollution
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
‘Drug resistance, metabolic disorders, & inflammation are major human health impacts.’
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#health #plastics
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
At this point you may be thinking it is hopeless
& Yes: microplastics are a huge & complex problem-
Since we have come to rely on plastics
But we can & must push back on companies that are driving uneccessary uses of plastics & the #ClimateCrisis
35/x
cnbc.com/2022/01/29/how…
‘The main route for [microplastics] into the aquatic ecosystems is through the flushing of urban wastewater.'
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#plasticpollution #cities #water
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
‘In many cases, aquatic organisms mistake [microplastics (MPs)] as food, while other species may intentionally use them as food …Chemical and physical paralysis occurs if MPs are consumed by aquatic species’
37/x
#water #environment #plastic
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
‘Several studies on the effect of [microplastics] exposure among various test organisms such as crustaceans, molluscs, fish, etc., interpret the induction of physical & chemical toxicity...'
38/x
#water #ecosystems #environment
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
‘…genotoxicity, oxidative stress, behavioural changes, high transgenerational effects on the populations’
39/x
#water #ecosystems #environment
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
‘Almost all life forms are affected by the toxic effects of [microplastics] in the marine environment’
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#water #ecosystems #environment #plasticpollution
link.springer.com/article/10.100…
‘[microplastics] transport antibiotic resistant elements across water bodies’, including antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistant genes
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#water #AntibioticResistance #plasticpollution
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Microplastics also ‘negatively impact wastewater treatment and water disinfection’
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#wastewater #water #cities #infrastructure #plastics
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Within the human body, microplastics have been found in sputum / the respiratory tract:
“Microplastics are ubiquitous in all sputum”
43/x
#health #plastics #news
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.102…
Microplastics have been found in “all regions of the human lungs”
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#health #plastics #news
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Microplastics ‘can occur in saliva and stool, and on scalp hair together with skin.’
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#health #plastics #news
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Microplastics have also recently been found in human blood.
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#health #plastics #news
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
In short, “microplastics of various types of polymers, shapes and sizes are ubiquitous in humans. Hence, the possibility of health risks resulting from microplastic exposure in the human body should not be ignored.”
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#health #urgent #plasticwaste
oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms…
Shockingly, microplastics have been found in placenta tissue “a crucial interface between the fetus and the maternal environment… that can change the phenotypic expression of the individual even long after birth”
48/x
#health #children #parents
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…
Furthermore, “No one knows exactly how much microplastic a child ingests. But several studies now suggest that today's children absorb microplastics in their bodies as early as at foetal age. This is concerning”
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#health #children #parents
eurekalert.org/news-releases/…
“Children do not have a fully developed immune system and are in a very important phase of their brain development. This makes them particularly vulnerable”
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#health #children #parents
eurekalert.org/news-releases/…
There is very much legitimate debate around potential health impacts, however plastics are being produced at an increasing rate, continuously accumulating in the environment, increasing exposure.
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#plastics #Fossilfuel #waste #health
ourworldindata.org/faq-on-plastic…
Even conservative commentary on the risks notes:
“we should not delay precautionary measures to combat microplastic pollution until science is ready & reaches a consensus on the toxicity of microplastics for biota & humans…”
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#health #plastics
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
“...The fact that microplastics are persistent and accumulate should be sufficient evidence to legitimize measures.”
53/x
#health #plastics #environment
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
More importantly, as others have asked: “where is the evidence that human exposure to microplastics is safe… it is clearly perilous to believe that the absence of evidence of risk translates into evidence for the absence of risk”
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#health #plastics
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Furthermore, there are already well documented impacts on terrestrial & marine environments, detailed above and elsewhere, e.g.
55/x
#environment #plasticpollution #water #soil
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/s…
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
As with climate change, technical solutions to microplastic pollution are being proposed, though much work remains to be done, and many questions about scaling and otherwise remain.
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#plasticpollution #environment
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…
So we should all be asking why governments are failing so terribly-
Why they are giving into industry lobbying resulting in massive amount of plastics wastage.
57/x
#plasticpollution #environment #justice #EnvironmentalJustice
theintercept.com/2019/07/20/pla…
And we should also all be asking:
Why are governments permitting so much wholly unnecessary plastic production especially when recycling rates are so low?
58/x
#plasticpollution #environment #EarthDay
earthday.org/fact-sheet-sin…
As with #ClimateChange what we are seeing is a colossal lack of government oversight and corporate capture, and
“a surprisingly small number of big companies & banks are behind the manufacturing & financing of much of the world’s single-use plastic”
59/x
nytimes.com/2021/05/18/cli…
Thus, above all, systemic change is needed to limit unnecessary plastic production & waste.
Individuals can also take immediate, complementary action as detailed here, but these are absolutely not sufficient.
60/x
#plastics #lifestyle #health
myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreegui…
Individual actions may however yield added health benefits – microplastics aside, plastics pose many increasingly well documented health risks:
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#plastics #lifestyle #health
medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-s…
In sum:
-Microplastics present significant & growing risks for health & environment
-as with the #ClimateCrisis, the fossil fuel industry and its financiers are driving this crisis
-urgent systemic action is required.
/end
#health #plastics #environment
thelancet.com/journals/lanpl…
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