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WHAT ARE MICROPLASTIC FIBERS AND WHY ARE THEY DANGEROUS?
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Plastic,as we know, is now everywhere. And we mean: literally everywhere. Maybe when we think of plastic, we think of supermarket packaging or the plastic soup floating in our rivers and oceans, especially in the Pacific.
But did you know that there are also many very small plastic particles that are invisible to the naked eye? We call them microplastics. They come in all kinds of sizes, colors, and shapes, including fiber-shaped. They are found in the environment and in our bodies and can make us sick. But what exactly are these particles, where do they come from, why are they dangerous and what can be done about them?
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THESE ARE MICROFIBERS
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Microplastic fibers are very small, thread-like plastic particles. They come largely from clothing or other textile products, such as carpets, made from synthetic fabrics. You’ve probably heard of polyester. It is a plastic fabric made from petroleum. Such as acrylic, spandex, spandex, nylon, and lycra. Manufacturers invent fancy names for these fabrics to avoid using the word “plastic” on the label. In the last 20 years, the use of these synthetic materials in fashion has doubled.
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WHAT IS MICROPLASTIC FIBER LOSS?
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Microplastic fibers end up in the environment because they detach from clothing and other textiles. This is mainly due to friction. And unfortunately, this happens throughout the life cycle of a garment. From the making of the fabric and the making of the garment, to its wearing and washing. Millions of microplastic fibers end up in water and air. These plastic particles are found everywhere, from the depths of the oceans to the highest mountain peaks.
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WHY ARE MICROPLASTIC FIBERS DANGEROUS?
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After synthetic clothing is washed, wastewater containing millions of microplastic fibers ends up in the sewers. The sewage treatment plants do their best to remove as much as possible, but because the particles are so small, many still end up in the sea. Aquatic organisms eat the fibre and pass it on to larger animals higher up the food chain. It’s not just bad for animals; you might end up with plastic in your body after eating a pan of mussels or a fish fillet.
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In addition, microplastic fibers also end up in the air during the manufacture and wearing of synthetic clothing. We then inhale these plastic particles! Scientists are very concerned about their effects on our lungs and even more so about their effects on the development of the lungs of young children.
In short: microplastic fibers are everywhere, almost impossible to eliminate or avoid, and they pose a serious risk to human and environmental health.
Solution:
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Produce, buy and wear only clothing that contains natural fibers — cotton, wool, silk, hemp, etc. — until the problem of microplastics is solved!
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Eight types of microplastics, including most of all polystyrene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl
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Microplastics are often in the news. They are present in our clothes, our food and therefore in our bodies. These polymers are now of concern to the scientific community around the world. Experts have observed up to eight types of these particles in human semen. So, are they right to be worried? Why is this discovery important? Is there a link with the decline in fertility rates around the world?
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The methodology of the study
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The study was published in the scientific journal Science of the Total Environment. To carry it out, the scientists used the Raman microspectroscopy technique to identify, quantify and classify microplastic particles.
Male fertility is a key determinant of sperm health. For this reason, the experts also analysed MOT [motility, movements] using computers to understand the effects of polymers on the male reproductive system.
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How big are they?
The scientific agency EFSA defines microplastics as particles ranging in size from 0.1 to 5,000 micrometers (μm), or 5 millimeters to give an idea. With such measurements, it is therefore impossible to identify polymers with the naked eye. Nevertheless, the enemy is there!
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The most common polymers
Of the eight types of microplastics identified, the most common is polystyrene (31%), a polymer widely used in packaging, boxes or containers, for example. This is followed by polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (14% each).
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Mice exposed to microplastics
As reported by the Gizmodo blog, in tests on mice, exposure to these polymers led to a significant decrease in sperm count. In addition, according to Wired, other experiments conducted on rodents have revealed that the presence of microplastics can lead to behavioral alterations: the more contaminated the animals, the more docile they are.
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“The more contaminated the animals, the more docile they are.”
Where have other microplastics been detected?
Where have other microplastics been detected? For decades, scientists have been analyzing the effects of microplastics on health. Recent studies have revealed the presence of these polymers in blood, urine, placenta, and breast milk.
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“in the placenta and breast milk“
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Their very small size favors their transportation in air, water and porous media (e.g. soil). As explained in an article in Wired, it was recently discovered that hurricanes can move microplastics from one place to another: they can throw to 100,000 fragments per square meter into the air and come down elsewhere.
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A 2019 study by the University of Newcastle, Australia, showed that we could consume up to five grams of plastic per week. That’s almost the equivalent of a credit card!
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This stuff is everywhere: water, food and especially shellfish (which are usually eaten whole) so that the plastic they contain is also swallowed.
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The amount of contamination varies from place to place, but on average, humans can consume 1,769 particles per week just by drinking water. In the United States, for example, more than 94% of home water taps have been polluted with plastic fibers.
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Scientists continue to analyze the risks of prolonged exposure to microplastics. As Wired reports, studies have already identified that these particles are likely to cause “inflammation and oxidative stress in the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems.”
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Another study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, [linked to Harvard University in Boston] highlights possible correlations between microplastics and cardiovascular problems. Of the more than 200 people who had surgery on the carotid arteries (arteries in the neck), nearly 60% had polymers in their blood vessels.
In view of the results of the Chinese study, the scientists estimated that exposure to microplastics could pose a “cumulative [getting bigger and bigger] and chronic [lasting] risk to male reproductive health”. (Another analysis of human placentas containing polymers could not determine whether the particles had a negative effect on fetal development.)
“As this area of research finds that exposure to microplastics is a potential factor affecting human health, it is imperative to understand the extent of pollution and the relationships with reproductive outcomes,” the Chinese study concludes.
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….. Reflection
Comparison: 1924 with 2024
There is now the World Wide Web to awaken more and more individuals. There is also criminal, violent Israeli behavior toward the Gazans which shocks the whole world to the core. There is the justified fear of nuclear war followed by mega-death or a hellish life for the survivors,
and there is the visible decline of the bully-boy of world Jewry, the no longer free United States.
But the docility in the face of the unprecedented crimes of the Jewish states, the hatred of the elites for their peoples, and the jaded countenance of the masses in the face of a war of nuclear extermination that is becoming more and more likely,
….these things really frighten me.
I have a lot of bold work to do.
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