[gattis]

wait, we skipped the part where we found out microplastics were bad for you. concerning, yes, but plastic is relatively inert and there's no actual evidence of harm yet.

[gsk22]

Plastic is biologically inert, but the plasticizers added to modify the qualities of plastics may not be. From what I understand, that's one of the major concerns with microplastics.

[zamalek]

Plastics are basically all endocrine disrupting chemicals (your body confuses them for hormones, usually estrogen). Even nylon has been shown to be a EDC. BPA was by far the worst of them and wound up diffusing public concern, getting the rest completely off the hook.

[keep_reading]

Nanoplastics can disrupt human liver, lung cells’ processes in lab experiments

https://www.acs.org/pressroom/newsreleases/2022/september/na...

[londons_explore]

I'd like them to compare to tiny particles of eg. Silt/sand and see if plastics are worse.

Otherwise the headline might as well just be 'small things are bad for your health'.

[schiffern]

>plastic is relatively inert

That's not the whole story. Plastic is a chemical 'sponge' that soaks up contaminants from the environment (eg heavy metals, brominated flame retardants, pesticides, etc), concentrating them to many times background levels before delivering them into your body. For example household dust (which is >50% microplastics) is the primary route for brominated flame retardants to enter the human body.

And that's not even to mention intentional additives (phthalates, Bisphenol-*, BFRs again), which are far from inert.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-019-1352-0

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/460110

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220216112233.h...

[eggy]

And so are rice, broccoli, beer, wine, and brussels sprouts due to their absorption of arsenic from pesticides, mining, and other causes. The Chinese don't seem to be too concerned with it, even though it is well known.

Hey but eat meat and eggs! ALA helps to detoxify it. Not getting into the fear list on meat ;)

https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/ic/elements/arsenic.html

[ethanbond]

Hard to ascertain harm because it’s endemic

Increasingly endemic because it’s hard to ascertain harm

Thankfully, we have hope, which is far, far better than overly cautious regulation.

[automatic6131]

>Hard to ascertain harm because it’s endemic Increasingly endemic because it’s hard to ascertain harm

I mean, given we've shrouded almost every consumable item in them, for approximately 40 years (maybe more!) we can be whatever harm they do is minor.

Like, it's not carcinogenic. It's far below, say, asbestos. Or arsenic. Or thalidomide.

We can be extremely confident, whatever the effects of micro and nano plastics, they're not even close to those levels of danger

[lm28469]

idk if being inert is enough, asbestos is inert