this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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Science Memes

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safety first (mander.xyz)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago

Obama: bans microplastic beads

orange parasite: lifts ban on asbestos

Idiots: bOtH pArTiEs ArE tHe SaMe LoL aMiRiTe

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The boiling method, and using ultrasonic devices so far sound promising:

https://projectboard.world/isef/project/eaev062t-harnessing-ultrasound-for-microplastic-filtration

Neither method is 100%, and sadly even if it were, there is no way to avoid ingesting microplastics. It's basically in all food sources at this point. Any animal, or plant have them in them, and those sources are going to be exposed to them; even rain has microplastics in it now.

I suppose the best way to actually avoid microplastics in the food chain would be growing plants in a greenhouse type environment (with dug up deep pre-plastic dirt?) only using properly treated water? For meats, I guess lab grown meat would be the way to avoid it, using plastic free (or less) sources for material?

I've actually been throwing out old spices in recent years, but maybe I should be saving them. Maybe they are the last vestiges of plastic free spices, and will be worth a fortune to paranoid rich people that want flavor?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ah fuck we have NANOPLASTICS now?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Wake me when they release picoplastics

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Why need to boil it? Is the tap water that bad otherwise?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The effects of microplastics(/nanoplastics) on humans aren't fully understood yet. We mostly know that they are now everywhere, and are being linked to a number of health issues.

This article suggests that boiling hard tapwater can reduce the intake of microplastics via the formed "scale" trapping the plastic particles.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If that's the Chinese study you also have to run it through a coffee filter.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

Gotta season your microplastics with more microplastics.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

so it melts the plastics into bigger pieces or what

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The heat makes them more malleable so enzymes can attach and help break them down into super calories.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

So the 0 calorie label on water is now a lie?