Microplastics and nanoplastics cause significant environmental concerns due to their potentially harmful effects on ecosystems and wildlife. This World Environment Day (June 5), let’s vow to protect our environment by reducing plastic use.
Tiny pieces of plastic called microplastics, which are less than 5mm in size, can be found everywhere. They can be carried by the wind and are found in faraway parts, like mountains and polar regions.
The scarier part is that these fragments are even found in the food we consume and the water we drink.
How do microplastics enter and impact our environment?
Microplastics get into the environment when plastic materials are made or break down into smaller pieces. Since they are very small, they can easily be carried by wind and water. As a result, microplastics are found everywhere, like in oceans, rivers and even the air we breathe.
“Microplastics are also a concern particularly in the ocean because they are so easily ingested by living things,” Paul Anastas, the director of the Center for Green Chemistry at Yale University, told the Yale Sustainability website. “When a fish or invertebrate absorbs these microplastics by eating them, they can experience health problems such as a severe interference to or an abrasion with their digestive tracts, which can be fatal.”
How do they harm humans?
Tiny pieces of plastic are found everywhere around us. We can accidentally breathe them in, and swallow them with our food and water, or they can enter our bodies through dermal absorption, according to News-Medical.net.
Environmentalists raise concerns regarding the potential health risks associated with microplastics. It is believed that microplastics, which are as harmful as asbestos fibers, have the ability to cause lung inflammation and potentially lead to cancer.
How to deal with the threat
It is a persistent threat and while it is nearly impossible to completely avoid microplastics, there are effective measures to reduce their spread and the…
Read the full article here
