[NA]Microplastics; the latest thing to worry about.

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

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Dave Taylor
The next killer, or the latest overplayed enviro concern?
Maybe bad, but "not for my generation to worry about"? lol

They are everywhere. And have been for decades. Identifying actual harm? Difficult.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Health Effects of Microplastic Exposures: Current Issues and Perspectives in South Korea

Microplastics are environmental pollutants that prevail in the oceans, remote islands, and polar regions. Exposure to microplastics presents a major emerging threat to the ecosystems due to their potential adverse effects. Herein, we reviewed the literature ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
My parents just started that anti-microplastics water bottle kick. No water bottles but yet they still have milk, OJ, etc in plastic bottles???

Microplastics are in everything. The soil, the air and the water. Even in the food we eat. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be concerned, but as of right now, eliminating water bottle use is only a small part of the problem.
 
"Little is known about the impact of microplastics on human health"

"No international consensus has been reached regarding the definition of microplastics"

"Currently, accurate statistics are unavailable regarding the sources of microplastics and the total amount of microplastics deposited in the land and sea."

"The threats that microplastics present to the human body have not yet been clearly identified."

A lot of unknowns and fear.

<sigh>
 
I remember working at the supermarket and taking return deposits for glass bottles. They got rid of that because the heavy glass bottles used a lot of fuel for transport. Everything’s a fad. They don’t have enough brains to know what they really want. They just know they want it whatever it is.
 
My daughter is a doctor and has studied the microplastics issue peripherally during her education; there are microplastics in the blood of newborn babies now. The health effects of microplastics, short and long term, are still TBD. That said, I think the biggest threat to life on our planet is pollution (garbage, chemical waste, etc), not the boogieman CO2 zealots harp on and on about.
 
Bob Noel said:
"Little is known about the impact of microplastics on human health"

"No international consensus has been reached regarding the definition of microplastics"

"Currently, accurate statistics are unavailable regarding the sources of microplastics and the total amount of microplastics deposited in the land and sea."

"The threats that microplastics present to the human body have not yet been clearly identified."

A lot of unknowns and fear.

<sigh>
Click to expand...

So we’ll need lots of taxpayer money to fund countless studies that will then be spun to suit the needs of the politicians.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I remember working at the supermarket and taking return deposits for glass bottles. They got rid of that because the heavy glass bottles used a lot of fuel for transport. Everything’s a fad. They don’t have enough brains to know what they really want. They just know they want it whatever it is.
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But there is so much money to be made on new filters, Stanley thermos', Yeti travel mugs, etc.
 
BMan said:
.....snip.... That said, I think the biggest threat to life on our planet is pollution (garbage, chemical waste, etc), not the boogieman CO2 zealots harp on and on about.
Click to expand...

Call me jaded, but....this planet, with its finite space and resources is much a kin to a Petri dish streaked with a sample of saliva. Many different types of bacteria will grow and dominate until they either run out of fuel or die in their own excrement while another species will then thrive under the resulting environment. This continues until all space and/or resources are consumed and the surface of the agar becomes an inhospitable wasteland. The only way to prevent this is to have a zero sum game with birth and death rates....population control. Not a palatable solution so we, as a race, look for bogeyman after bogeyman to destroy and thus save our race....but...in reality, it is a futile effort. Behold.....ManBearPig!

I'm donning my old Nomex racing suit and balaclava....(if it comes even close to fitting..LOL)

Flame away! :D
 
With our limited understanding of how the human body responds to synthetic inputs, gathering data on the severity of the risk doesn't seem like a bad thing, to me.
 
Troska said:
With our limited understanding of how the human body responds to synthetic inputs, gathering data on the severity of the risk doesn't seem like a bad thing, to me.
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True. Coming from a past life as a research scientist at a major medical center I know how federal funding of such ideas quickly get perverted. If the 'potential and speculated, but FAR from substantiated ' risks get sensationalized, as they frequently do, then researchers start edging greatly toward expectational bias in the experimental design and conclusions to make sure their projects remain "relevant" in the existing funding environment. Global warming research and its morph into a 'climate change' narrative to make sure it can sustain attacks from any direction comes to mind.
 
Morgan3820 said:
Aren’t a lot of the medical implants polymer?
Click to expand...
The articular surface of joint prostheses have at least one component covered with Ultra High Molecular Weight PolyEthylene (UHMWPE). Micro shedding has been extensively researched with this particular material.
 
Morgan3820 said:
Aren’t a lot of the medical implants polymer?
Click to expand...
Sure. What type of polymer? What size of particle? What shape of micro particle? Is that question even relevant?

We've identified that something foreign to the human body could now found in nearly everyone, everywhere. We don't know if it means nothing to the population, something to a portion of the population, etc.

Doesn't it behoove us to understand the scope of risk? Maybe we don't need to do anything, maybe we need to be drastic. We don't know yet.

I don't support burying our heads in the collective sand because I didn't happen to like the spin put on problem XYZ.

Tim
 
robin ardoin said:
The articular surface of joint prostheses have at least one component covered with Ultra High Molecular Weight PolyEthylene (UHMWPE). Micro shedding has been extensively researched with this particular material.
Click to expand...
Perfect - we have data in this space to understand the implications for UHMWPE. We have a head start. We can learn what the distribution is of type of plastic being found (doubtful much/any is UHMWPE), learn about what different plastics behave in an analogous manner in the human body, and categorize the risk and make informed decisions.
 
Troska said:
I don't support burying our heads in the collective sand because I didn't happen to like the spin put on problem XYZ.

Tim
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I'm in total agreement with you. A great area to research. I'm just stating, from personal experience, how these things typically go when the results can cause great financial benefit/harm on many levels. True peer reviewed research can get tossed in the weeds if the conclusions don't agree with the popular narrative.
 
robin ardoin said:
this planet, with its finite space and resources is much a kin to a Petri dish streaked with a sample of saliva. Many different types of bacteria will grow and dominate until they either run out of fuel or die in their own excrement while another species will then thrive under the resulting environment.
Click to expand...
en.wikipedia.org

Great Oxidation Event - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Troska said:
We've identified that something foreign to the human body could now found in nearly everyone, everywhere. We don't know if it means nothing to the population, something to a portion of the population, etc.
Click to expand...

It's probably responsible for the increase in life expectancy (I'd bet the timelines roughly align). Once we're 100% plastic we'll be imortal.
 
robin ardoin said:
True. Coming from a past life as a research scientist at a major medical center I know how federal funding of such ideas quickly get perverted. If the 'potential and speculated, but FAR from substantiated ' risks get sensationalized, as they frequently do, then researchers start edging greatly toward expectational bias in the experimental design and conclusions to make sure their projects remain "relevant" in the existing funding environment. Global warming research and its morph into a 'climate change' narrative to make sure it can sustain attacks from any direction comes to mind.
Click to expand...
So true. I'm not an actuary but I crunch numbers (analysis, estimates) as a main part of my day job and see this play out time after time. If I dig into the empirical data and find it opposes the narrative summation, I'm just that old guy waving his fist in the air. never let the factual data get in the way of a good narrative seems to be the way "studies" are going, lately.
 
Morgan3820 said:
I remember working at the supermarket and taking return deposits for glass bottles.
Click to expand...

I remember searching the ditches and creeks looking for discarded bottles just to get that 4 cent return.

It took a lot of bottles to be able to get enough cash for a 12 ounce RC Cola and a package of Ding Dongs...
 
robin ardoin said:
. Global warming research and its morph into a 'climate change' narrative to make sure it can sustain attacks from any direction comes to mind.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Just as we have “carbon credits” we’ll now be encouraged to buy “plastic points” or whatever alliteration that makes it sound cool.
 
Troska said:
Sure. What type of polymer? What size of particle? What shape of micro particle? Is that question even relevant?

We've identified that something foreign to the human body could now found in nearly everyone, everywhere. We don't know if it means nothing to the population, something to a portion of the population, etc.

Doesn't it behoove us to understand the scope of risk? Maybe we don't need to do anything, maybe we need to be drastic. We don't know yet.

I don't support burying our heads in the collective sand because I didn't happen to like the spin put on problem XYZ.

Tim
Click to expand...
We’re all gonna die. It’s just a matter how and when. If you want to worry, go ahead
The issue is that the contaminants are already there and they ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. Kind of like PFOS. It’ll take a huge effort to remove them from the supply chain. I doubt China or the other major players in manufacturing will comply. The stuff is there for a reason.
 
Zeldman said:
I remember searching the ditches and creeks looking for discarded bottles just to get that 4 cent return.

It took a lot of bottles to be able to get enough cash for a 12 ounce RC Cola and a package of Ding Dongs...
Click to expand...

Ah, those were the days. For us, it was often a Slush Puppie.

Of course, other kids in my neighborhood did other things....
Well I used to wake the morning, before the rooster crowed
Searching for soda bottles to get myself some dough
Brought 'em down to the corner, down to the country store
Cash 'em in and give my money to a man named Curtis Loew​
 
If I were a sci-fi/dystopian author I'd imagine a way to weaponize something that has such power to spread around the world.
 
Mikey52 said:
I'd pay a dollar for that combo now.
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Back then, if memory still works, the RC was 10 cents and the Ding Dongs were 25 cents. I think the Moon Pie was 20 cents.

Anyway, Ding Dongs or Moon Pie with the Arasee (RC) Cola is part of the reason I now have to watch my sugar intake....
 
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