Microplastics are everywhere. That's the finding of study after study, in which tiny plastic fragments less than 5 millimeters wide have been found in increasingly disturbing places in our bodies and environment.
Read more: Crickets will eat microplastics whole, leading to the spread of more nanoplastics
Microplastics accumulate in our bodies
2019 study It is estimated that people consume hundreds of microplastic particles per day. Subsequent research suggests that the brain accumulates more of this plastic than other organs. The rate at which plastic waste accumulates in our bodies mirrors how plastic waste accumulates across the planet.
Plastics come from kitchen equipment, clothing and a number of other household items. They are not easy to break and can be found on all continents, including near summit Mount Everest, in the deepest ocean trenchesand, according to the British Antarctic Survey, even in Antarctica there are snow drifts.
Scientists are increasingly concerned about the potential impact of these fragments on the human body. These molecules can cause inflammation in tissue and have been linked to conditions such as cancer, heart disease and reproductive problems, according to a report from Stanford University of Medicine.
Researchers in China say you may at least be able to remove microplastics from drinking water with a relatively simple trick. Although wastewater treatment plants strive to remove these particles, research in Science General environment suggests that these measures are not fully effective in cleaning the water supply.
Researchers who published their findings in Letters on Environmental Science and Technology, tested whether they could successfully remove microplastics from both hard and soft tap water.
The team also tested whether their method could remove even smaller nanoplastics—particles ranging in size from one nanometer to one micrometer.
How to remove microplastics from drinking water
The research team boiled water and then filtered the resulting precipitate. This two-step strategy removed both types of microplastics from the water, but the effectiveness of the method varied significantly depending on the type of water. They noted that this strategy was more effective at removing plastic from harder water. At 80 mg/L calcium carbonate, which corresponds to very soft tap water, the removal efficiency was only 34 percent. The same method can remove 90 percent of microplastics and nanoplastics from very hard water with calcium carbonate levels of 300 mg/l.
After boiling, the plastic becomes precipitated with limescale; therefore, higher water hardness resulting in more lime formation results in higher removal efficiency. These are the same sediments that form inside kitchen kettles after boiling water in places with high water hardness.
It can then be removed using simple filters, such as the metal filters used to strain tea.
“This simple strategy of boiling water can 'disinfect' [nano- and microplastics] from household tap water and has the potential to harmlessly reduce human consumption [nano- and microplastics] due to water consumption,” the researchers write in their paper.
Boiling water is already a process recommended in emergency situations where toxins or germs may enter the drinking water supply. Unless action is taken to increase the levels of microplastics in our environment, this will likely become another emergency that requires us to boil our drinking water.
Read more: Zebrafish can clear nanoplastics quickly from the gut, but not so quickly from the brain
Article sources
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