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PLASTICMAXXING (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 17 points 1 year ago (13 children)

Isn't plastic basically biologically inert? So unless it is physically blocking something shouldn't we have seen adverse effects if it actually was dangerous? Or maybe health problems just haven't been associated with it yet. I think with lead it was obvious pretty quickly. I am a dumbass tho, so maybe someone smarter can correct me.

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  • [–] 36 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Plastic is mimicking certain hormones and I'm suspecting that the recent rise in cancer rates is linked to plastic intake.

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  • [–] 23 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    There is different health implications connected to microplastics like infertility and cardiovascular diseases, although the connections are not quite understood yet. The amount of microplastics in the human body is very alarming though. A study with brain samples found 0.5w% of plastics, which corresponds to roughly 6g of plastic in a brain. That's a credit card's worth of plastic.

    This article should give some overview over different findings and implications:

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/21/microplastics-brain-pollution-health

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago* (4 children)

    The water surrounding DuPont plants manufacturing PFOA-based materials was contaminated with those plastics. A local farmer videotaped his cows develop ulcers, grow tumors, and eventually wither and die. He constantly insisted that something was in the water that was killing his cows. Those same chemicals are now pervasive everywhere, in everyone's bodies to some extent. It is 100% accurate to say these chemical compounds will kill you longterm.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago* (3 children)

    That's very different though. Nobody claims that the chemicals used in plastic manufacturing are biologically inert, just that the final result is.

    Dupont wasn't dumping Lego bricks into the pond. They were leaking liquid chemicals.

    Edit: I'm presuming because "This content in unavailable in your area".

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    Another link talking about the case. It was confirmed that the chemical at high concentration in the water was PFOA, which is the percursor to Teflon, and which was leaking from the factory site. It has the same effects as other perfluorinated carbines (PFCs). It is also the exact chemical group that we've been testing peoples' blood for, PFOA and other PFCs. It's the group of chemicals we've found strong links to various types of cancers. Research communicates that it is not inert in the body as a microplastic.

    It is 100% the reason those cows withered and died like they did. it directly lines up with everything else we know about PFOA. The concentrations were higher than anywhere else, which explains why the cows died so rapidly. The only reason we don't have complete confirmation is from DuPont meddling to try and downplay this, the same way they meddled by witholding their research on the health risks of PFCs, and the same way they stayed silent and didn't act when the alarm was sounded by that Parkersburg farmer.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    I'm confused.

    Is the issue here you're using the term "micro-plastic" in a different way to me? My understanding of it is "small particles of solid plastic often reduced in size through mechanical processes to microscopic sizes which we find throughout the environment, often distributed by water". You seem to be talking more generally about chemical water pollution.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    That is my bad, not explaining this clearly.

    Our formations of plastics usually utilizes petroleum products being formed into long polymeric chains. That's what provides the pliable, even stretchy nature of many plastics. However, we don't make all plastics out of petroleum - we also use resin mixtures and various other chemical processes for specialized plastics - PLA, for instance, is synthesized from plant starch, for instance. So, when we're talking about 'plastics', we're usually talking about petroleum products, but it includes other long-polymer-chain materials we artificially synthesize.

    Having covered that, Teflon is often called a forever chemical, but it's a chemical which we synthesize into long prouder chains so we can attach it to the surface of things. It's how pans are non-stick, gore-tex is waterproof, and how many food containers are grease-proof. I am of the view that perflourochemicals classify as plastics because of that. And the reason it's so pervasive everywhere is the same reason all other microplastics are everywhere: it chips off. You use a metal spatula on a nonstick pan - bam, stray Perflourochemicals, as tiny little solid microplastic flecks. And everything points to them not being inert to human health.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    plastic can be oversimplified into "usually biologically inert molecule chains" (polymers) held together by "usually NOT biologically inert accessory molecules" (plasticizers, fillers, etc.)

    BPA is a pretty well-known "fucks you up" plasticizer, hence it being banned for some applications and "BPA-free" marketing taking off (fun fact we're still figuring out how badly BPA replacements, most being very similar molecules, are fucking us up and to what extent)

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