Tiny threads of plastics are showing up in Pacific oysters and razor clams along the Oregon coast — and the yoga pants, fleece jackets, and sweat-wicking clothing that Pacific Northwesterners love to wear are a source of that pollution, according to a new Portland State…
From the Great Pacific garbage patch to inland rivers, plastics are among the most widespread contaminants on Earth. Microplastics — particles of plastic smaller than five millimeters — are especially pervasive. As they build up in Earth’s waters, microplastics are also becoming a permanent part…
Plastics in our waste streams are breaking down into tiny particles, causing potentially catastrophic consequences for human health and our aquatic systems, finds research from the University of Surrey and Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials. Led by Dr Judy Lee and Marie Enfrin from the…
By Chris Menahan Bottoms up! From CNN: They may be in our oceans, rivers and ice but there’s little evidence to suggest that microplastics in the water we drink pose a risk to our health. In its first review on the health risks of plastic…
By Mayukh Saha Ireland has given us the latest Google Science Fair winner in the age group of 13 through 18. Fionn Ferrier won the prestigious global annual science competition with his project which can remove microplastics from water. Ferrier won a $50,000 bursary at…
By Elias Marat With the world’s oceans awash in plastic, beaches and islands across the globe are waging an uphill battle in the struggle to manage the plastic debris washing ashore—especially the millions of tiny microplastics that are nearly impossible to sift from the sand. In Hawaii,…
By Phillip Schneider The amount of plastic currently residing in the world’s oceans is so large, it’s almost incomprehensible. Making up part of the estimated 4.8-12.7 million tonnes currently inhabiting our waters is a small form of plastic known as microplastics, which is any plastic…
By Jessica Corbett Bolstering global demands to #BreakFreeFromPlastic and end the world’s worsening pollution crisis, a new study from the United Kingdom shows that “microplastics are being found absolutely everywhere.” “It’s no use looking back in 20 years time and saying: ‘If only we’d realized just how bad it was,’” lead…
By Julia Conley A year after researchers at a New York university discovered microplastics present in sea salt thanks to widespread plastic pollution, researchers in South Korea set out to find out how pervasive the problem is—and found that 90 percent of salt brands commonly used in homes…
By Mac Slavo According to a new study, microplastic can escape from polluted waters via flying insects and contaminate our skies. The research revealed that these spreadable plastics could escape from polluted waters via flying insects and threaten birds and other animals which eat the insects….
John Meeker, University of Michigan One of the main problems with plastics is that although we may only need them fleetingly – seconds in the case of microbeads in personal care products, or minutes as in plastic grocery bags – they stick around for hundreds…
By Mariana Fuentes, Florida State University Have you ever considered that small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long, or smaller than a pencil eraser head, called microplastics, can affect large marine vertebrates like sea turtles? My research team first discovered this disturbing fact…
By Heather Callaghan, Editor The average person swallows up to 68,415 possibly dangerous plastic fibers a year, according to scientists who tested the particles that fall on our dinner plates. We have been reporting on the startling accounts detailing how we are now drinking plastic nanoparticles in…
By Heather Callaghan, Editor WHO launches health review after microplastic fibers found twice as high in popular bottled water brands versus tap. Although people are grossly over-paying for shelf-stable, bottled water – they are gulping down double the plastic nanoparticles than they would if they drank tap,…
By Jason Erickson “In fact, terrestrial microplastic pollution is much higher than marine microplastic pollution” – about four to 23 times more… More attention continues to be placed on determining any ill effects that microplastics (microbeads) are having on human health and the environment. Previous…
By Jason Erickson More attention is finally being given to determining the ill effects that microplastics (microbeads) are having on human health and the environment. Previous concerns have been raised in everything from toothpaste to beer to the wider ecosystem where it was found to…
Editor’s Note: The pun maker in me so wanted to title this article “Microplastics in Your Microbrew?” for the sound of it – but, microbrews are small, independent batches. This study focuses on the German commercial beer industry, yet, as pointed out, the industry procedure…
By Study Finds Scientists have discovered that dolphins are far more sensitive to military sonar systems than previously believed, responding to sound levels far below what experts thought would disturb them. The alarming finding represents the first experimental investigation of how dolphins respond to military…
Authored by Sheramy Tsai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), When Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first city to add fluoride to its water supply in 1945, it was hailed as a major public health innovation aimed at preventing cavities. Many other cities quickly followed…
By Chris Melore There’s no question plastic pollution is everywhere. Studies have shown that people are both breathing in and eating concerning amounts of plastic microparticles every week. Now, a new report finds that men may have even more to worry about. Researchers at the…
