Concerned about microplastics? Research shows one of the biggest sources is car tyres
A lot of the emphasis on reducing microplastics has focussed on things like plastic bags, clothing, and food packaging.
But there's a growing body of research that shows one of the biggest culprits by far is car tyres.
It's increasingly clear that we simply cannot solve the issue of microplastics in the environment while still using tyres — even with electric-powered cars.
"Tyre wear stands out as a major source of microplastic pollution. Globally, each person is responsible for around 1kg of microplastic pollution from tyre wear released into the environment on average each year – with even higher rates observed in developed nations.
"It is estimated that between 8% and 40% of these particles find their way into surface waters such as the sea, rivers and lakes through runoff from road surfaces, wastewater discharge or even through airborne transport.
"However, tyre wear microplastics have been largely overlooked as a microplastic pollutant. Their dark colour makes them difficult to detect, so these particles can’t be identified using the traditional spectroscopy methods used to identify other more colourful plastic polymers."
"Microplastic pollution has polluted the entire planet, from Arctic snow and Alpine soils to the deepest oceans. The particles can harbour toxic chemicals and harmful microbes and are known to harm some marine creatures. People are also known to consume them via food and water, and to breathe them, But the impact on human health is not yet known.
"“Roads are a very significant source of microplastics to remote areas, including the oceans,” said Andreas Stohl, from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, who led the research. He said an average tyre loses 4kg during its lifetime. “It’s such a huge amount of plastic compared to, say, clothes,” whose fibres are commonly found in rivers, Stohl said. “You will not lose kilograms of plastic from your clothing.”"
"Microplastics are of increasing concern in the environment [1, 2]. Tire wear is estimated to be one of the largest sources of microplastics entering the aquatic environment [3,4,5,6,7]. The mechanical abrasion of car tires by the road surface forms tire wear particles (TWP) [8] and/or tire and road wear particles (TRWP), consisting of a complex mixture of rubber, with both embedded asphalt and minerals from the pavement [9]."
"[Nanoplastics] are particles that are less than a micron in size.
Much of the plastic seems to be coming from the bottle itself and the reverse osmosis membrane filter used to keep out other contaminants."
Are microplastics from car tyres contributing to heart disease?
"Add one more likely culprit to the long list of known cardiovascular risk factors including red meat, butter, smoking and stress: microplastics.
"In a study released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, an international team of physicians and researchers showed that surgical patients who had a build-up of micro and nanoplastics in their arterial plaque had a 2.1 times greater risk of nonfatal heart attack, nonfatal stroke or death from any cause in the three years post surgery than those who did not."
So it's not just the sedentary lifestyles that car-dependent planning encourages that's causing health issues.
And it's not just exhaust fumes either.
There's also the health impacts of microplastics, including from car tyres.
Worth noting as well that internal documents from the big oil companies show that they knew since the 1970s that recycling wasn't going to solve the problem of plastic pollution. They promoted it anyway: https://aus.social/@ajsadauskas/112064312364853769
Hmm, people making their own nut milks for their health with "nut milk bags" made out of nylon mesh apparently are dosing themselves with microplastics. (bought some cotton ones, instead). #microplastics
Microplastic pollution has been found in all human semen samples tested in a study, and researchers say further research on the potential harm to reproduction is “imperative”. Sperm counts in men have been falling for decades and 40% of low counts remain unexplained, although chemical pollution has been implicated by many...
"European Union countries and lawmakers will negotiate "Euro 7" proposals this year on tighter limits for car #emissions - for #diesel#cars, but not petrol - and for heavy-duty #trucks and buses, including nitrogen oxide and #carbon monoxide.
The rules would also cover tyre and brake emissions."
This will mean less air pollution and less #microplastics pollution. Car makers balk, but this is still better for them than a big push for public transit.
> Microscopic #plastic particles have been found in the fats and lungs of two-thirds of the marine mammals in a graduate student's study of ocean #microplastics. The presence of polymer particles and fibers in these animals suggests that microplastics can travel out of the digestive tract and lodge in the tissues.
How likely is it that, in a generation, we will look at storing (and heating) food and drinks in plastic containers the way we look at using asbestos for construction today?
“Packaging food in plastic sounded like a good idea at the time. How wrong we were and how much illness we caused.”
1/ 'Away' has gone away.
"In 2019, researchers in Australia estimated that we ingest a credit card’s worth of #microplastics every week.
Businesses have an opportunity to save some $10 billion in material costs if they replace just 20% of their single-use plastic packaging with reusable alternatives. But the shift will also require buy-in from customers, who will have to embrace a host of unfamiliar products & practices.
American culture needs to “dispose of that disposable mindset, where everything is to be used and thrown away,”" https://grist.org/solutions/zero-waste-circular-economy-reuse-refill-containers/ #permaculture#economics#waste
“Oh Good, Hurricanes Are Now Made of Microplastics”
When Hurricane Larry made landfall two years ago, it dropped over 100,000 microplastics per sq m of land per day.
Larry had picked up the microplastics at sea, lofted them into the air, and dumped them on Newfoundland. A Newfoundland study notes that Larry happened to pass over the garbage patch of the North Atlantic Gyre, where currents accumulate floating plastic.
Well that's depressing, if hardly surprising: hurricanes can pick up microplastics from the ocean surface (probably via seaspray from the violent ocean surface, and possibly also some from bubble bursting) and dump them back on land:
Microplastics are becoming an increasing concern, as the tiny non biodegradable particles — less than a fifth of an inch in size — are infiltrating our water supplies and posing a threat to environmental health....
It's absolutely wild that this article on the frightening rise in early onset colorectal cancer doesn't mention the precipitous increase in microplastics and nanoplastics in our bodies as a potential carcinogen. Lifestyle, diet, medications, heavy metals, and PFAS are mentioned, but not microplastics (or pesticides!!).
Microplastics found in every human semen sample tested in study (www.theguardian.com)
Microplastic pollution has been found in all human semen samples tested in a study, and researchers say further research on the potential harm to reproduction is “imperative”. Sperm counts in men have been falling for decades and 40% of low counts remain unexplained, although chemical pollution has been implicated by many...
Scientists uncover concerning surprise (microplastics) in Arctic air: ‘We find them even in remote polar regions’ (news.yahoo.com)
Microplastics are becoming an increasing concern, as the tiny non biodegradable particles — less than a fifth of an inch in size — are infiltrating our water supplies and posing a threat to environmental health....