[HN Gopher] Microplastics: How much do we consume and from which...
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Microplastics: How much do we consume and from which sources?
Author : adomasm3
Score : 16 points
Date : 2023-12-28 21:10 UTC (1 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (molecularspec.substack.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (molecularspec.substack.com)
| londons_explore wrote:
| I would like to see analysis of microplastics from water filters.
|
| Water filters frequently use a very fine plastic mesh as their
| filter medium (eg. 'melt blown 5um polypropylene sediment
| filter'). I would expect that to give off a rather large number
| of particles the first time water is passed through it, and
| perhaps a good amount on an ongoing basis too since the mesh will
| flex with varying water flow.
|
| Since people wanting to avoid pollution are likely to have water
| filters installed, it seems important to know how much pollution
| they are adding to the water they are trying to clean.
| sunshine_reggae wrote:
| That is just 1 reason why it's a good idea to distill your
| water.
| hindsightbias wrote:
| Many DIY examples I've seen use an inverted pot lid over a
| bowl (which is inside the pot) to collect steam into
| distilled water.
|
| The lid handle is invariably made of plastic.
| afandian wrote:
| How do you get minerals back? And where do they come from?
| Solvency wrote:
| Every time you dry your clothes and clean your lint trap you've
| just inhaled a million microscopic plastic particles. Unless your
| entire wardrobe is flannel, cotton, or linen.
| 0xEF wrote:
| > your entire wardrobe is flannel, cotton or linen
|
| This is not that hard to accomplish and I've done it somewhat
| by default just by being a bit mindful about how my fabrics
| feel.
|
| Still, I'm curious about your comment. I assume the airborne
| particles are from synthetic materials? Are any from soaps that
| go through the cycle, and if so, is liquid or powder a better
| option? It would be interesting to see data on microplastics in
| our laundry since most of what I see is focused on foods and
| water supply.
| baal80spam wrote:
| > dry your clothes
|
| What do you mean by that? Be aware that most people dry their
| clothes the usual way - by hanging them. Does it release
| microplastics?
| helen___keller wrote:
| > Be aware that most people dry their clothes the usual way -
| by hanging them. Does it release microplastics?
|
| From context it's quite evident GP is referring to machine
| drying. Clotheslines don't have a lint trap.
| baal80spam wrote:
| > Clotheslines don't have a lint trap.
|
| Thanks, I don't even know what it is.
| stjohnswarts wrote:
| in the usa, most people do not dry by hanging clothes. I
| suppose that's what they're talking about. Not everyone is
| going to take the context as "the entire world" most people
| will think of their home country I think, I could be wrong.
| guidedlight wrote:
| It's very hard to visualise the 'average person' when everyone's
| environment is so different.
|
| Therefore, I wonder how much your location impacts the amount of
| microplastics you consume.
|
| If you are located in Los Angeles is your intake higher than
| someone from Winnipeg?
|
| Is living in Australia or New Zealand significantly advantageous
| to living in Europe or the US?
|
| If so, by how much?
| crooked-v wrote:
| I can only imagine all the really horrified future archeologists
| one day investigating the skeletons of their ancestors.
| wdwvt1 wrote:
| I think the author's mental model of what makes particulates
| dangerous is odd.
|
| In part 1 of the post he mentions the molecular size of PFAs, and
| in part 2 he mentions benzene. I think "size" is not the relevant
| property - it's "does this molecule get imported into cells and
| alter some component of their activity". While molecular size is
| related to this, it's more about presence of transporters on the
| cells, hydrophobicity of the molecules, how the liver handles
| them (e.g. phase I/II metabolism) etc.
|
| You can contrast this with asbestos, which is dangerous because
| it mechanically disrupts mucus clearance in the lungs without
| being imported into cells (also why asbestos + smoke is very
| dangerous, but asbestos alone probably not nearly as
| problematic).
|
| Microplastics increase the surface area for degradation in the
| body, and thus might increase intestinal (and then blood)
| concentrations of plastic component chemicals or heavy metals
| they complex with. However, I think it's mainly a phenomenon of
| degradation in the intestine and then import into the blood
| stream. Contrast this with "microplastics get into the
| bloodstream intact". While there might be some of that going on
| (e.g. phagocytosis by macrophages, eosinophils, etc) I think it's
| the wrong mental model.
|
| As a bit of reference, remember that your large intestine
| contains about 1E13 microbes/gram of digesta, and they are
| 0.2-2um in size. If the intestine let things of that size in at
| high rate we'd all have sepsis all the time
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