Bengaluru: A study by New Delhi-based environmental NGO Toxics Link measured the amount of microplastics (MPs) present in several sugar and salt brands in India. The study comprehensively laid out details about the type, shapes, sizes and colours of microplastics present in samples, and concluded with recommendations to improve existing manufacturing processes to shift away from plastic use, enhance regulation standards, promote research and development, and enhance public awareness, among other suggestions.
The findings of the study, released Tuesday, are barely surprising, although they have been interpreted as such across various media outlets.
Today, there are microplastics and nanoplastics all around us — in every corner of the world, inside every living being, in the air we breathe, and the water we drink. They come from both industries, and plastic items that are ubiquitous around us in everyday life.
Their nature and lack of data lead to a lack of perspective in the evaluation of studies on them.
ThePrint explains what the study found, and how microplastics affect us.
What are microplastics
Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic ranging in size from five millimetres to one micrometre. They are generated by larger pieces of plastic constantly eroding and breaking down into smaller pieces, as well as from plastic pieces manufactured directly at that scale.
Primary microplastics are those that are released into the environment in the same form in which they were manufactured, while secondary ones are those produced by the degradation of larger plastic.
Microplastics exist in various shapes, sizes, forms and colours, and are composed of polymers.
Nanoplastics are even smaller, ranging in size from 1,000 nanometers to one nanometre. Owing to their size, they are less understood and more prevalent compared to microplastics, and likely pose more risk for the same reason.
Micro- and nano-plastics are together referred to as MNPs.
Plastics are produced as a by-product of fossil fuel, and have been around since the late 1800s, exploding in growth in the second half of the 20th century due to their ease of use, durability, flexibility and cheap cost.
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Where are MNPs found
Today, MNPs are found in all corners of the world. Studies have shown that they are present at the bottom of the ocean, at the top of Mount Everest, inside polar ice, within oceans, inside soil and plants, within all marine, mammal and bird life, and inside the human body.
Nanoplastics especially are tiny enough to breach the blood-brain barrier — the natural protective membrane that prevents toxins and pathogens in the blood from entering the central nervous system and keeps it safe — and have been found in the brain.
MNPs have also been detected in the placenta, in the blood of foetuses and newborns, in breast milk, inside testicles, and in semen. They are also present freely in the air that all life breathes in, and experts speculate they could concentrate enough in the upper atmosphere to affect clouds.
The largest source of MNPs is clothing and laundry made of synthetic fibres, followed by tyres on vehicles, food and water packaging, cosmetics and skin care, and industrial processes.
They occur in the form of fibres, glitter, pellets, beads, films and fragments of random shapes. Around 35 percent of all MNPs in the ocean come from clothing.
MNPs harmful to humans
Risk assessment around microplastics stands at a very nascent stage owing to a unique problem encountered by those attempting to study health risks — there are no controls. This means there is nothing without microplastics that can be used to compare. And thus, studies focus on outcomes over time.
Studies show that MNPs smaller than 20 micrometres penetrate organs, while those smaller than 10 micrometres enter the brain and placenta.
Studies examining health effects of microplastic accumulation in the body have shown an association with cardiovascular health problems resulting in heart attacks or strokes. Studies in the lab have shown that they could be carcinogenic, with particles smaller than one micrometre having been found inside cancer cells.
While there is no doubt about the toxicity of MNPs, what exactly they can do to different parts of the body is almost entirely unknown.
What new study says about microplastics in salt and sugar
The study considered samples from popular brands in India and attempted to quantify the amount or weight of microplastics in them. As expected, they found microplastics in all samples, at varying concentrations.
The study followed along the lines of various other countries also quantifying microplastics in sugar and salt, such as China, Australia and France, among others. There have also been previous studies on microplastics in salt and sugar from India.
This study analysed 10 salt brands and five sugar brands, and found microplastics ranging from 6.71 pieces per kilogram to 89.15 pieces per kilogram in them. These microplastics were 0.1 to 0.3 millimetre, 0.1 to one millimetre, and one to five millimetres in size. They were primarily of colours white, transparent, blue, red, black and violet.
The study did not analyse nanoplastic particles.
The dangers of these are not elaborated upon as our understanding of their effects is still limited. However, owing to the material nature of how they circulate in our bodies, they are highly likely to lead to several long term health problems — even passing down through generations. They are currently associated with cardiovascular issues as well as cancer, and are likely responsible for a host of other conditions as well.
What MNP studies aim to do
Owing to their ubiquitous presence, MNPs are extremely hard to be entirely removed from daily life. Filtered water stored in plastic bottles gets filled with microplastics, and filtered salt added to a dish cooked on a non-stick pan adds even more microplastics.
We breathe in microplastics from the clothes we wear and daily objects we use. Even recycled plastic continues to produce and release tinier particles of plastic. All of the world’s plastic that has been produced so far will remain on Earth, leeching MNPs for millions of years into the environment, unless they are actively collected and stored away the way nuclear waste is disposed of.
Studies on microplastics today form part of very early literature that would lead us to be able to quantify and measure them, their effects, and improve technologies to filter them out. Due to their persistence, studies on the effects of plastic in the environment and inside organisms are required urgently.
How can microplastics be filtered from food or water
Since microplastics tend to break down into smaller and smaller microscopic sizes, these bits of invisible plastics can only be filtered by membrane filters which work at molecular levels. However, to prevent any filtered product from having microplastics, the supply chain, transport, storage and consumption should also be entirely free of plastic and exposure to the atmosphere.
Complete cessation of access to new plastic can occur only when usage of fossil fuels ends, along with use of recycled plastic.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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