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Would you like a glass of plastic with that order?

Solarstrike

Gold Member
So as many in the world suspected, we've all been duped. Bamboozled. Shafted. Scammed. Swindled. Ripped-Off. And now, poisoned! What a great time to be alive. Where humanity can be free an enjoy the finer things in life like a nice smoked fillet of Salmon with just a hint of plastic. The ocean is deep, and the problem with plastics is far and wide beyond anyone's comprehension.

"Using sophisticated imaging technology, scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty laboratory examined water samples from three popular brands (they won’t say which ones) and found hundreds of thousands of bits of plastic per liter of water. Ninety percent of those plastics were small enough to qualify as nanoplastics: microscopic flecks so small that they can be absorbed into human cells and tissue, as well as cross the blood-brain barrier."

 

ManaByte

Gold Member
A lot of plastic actually can't be recycled and resued. Where do you think they're putting all that plastic many states are requiring you to recycle?

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jason10mm

Gold Member
So as many in the world suspected, we've all been duped. Bamboozled. Shafted. Scammed. Swindled. Ripped-Off. And now, poisoned! What a great time to be alive. Where humanity can be free an enjoy the finer things in life like a nice smoked fillet of Salmon with just a hint of plastic. The ocean is deep, and the problem with plastics is far and wide beyond anyone's comprehension.

"Using sophisticated imaging technology, scientists at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty laboratory examined water samples from three popular brands (they won’t say which ones) and found hundreds of thousands of bits of plastic per liter of water. Ninety percent of those plastics were small enough to qualify as nanoplastics: microscopic flecks so small that they can be absorbed into human cells and tissue, as well as cross the blood-brain barrier."

Bruh, get you own origin story, this one is mine!
fFBLdOq.jpg
 

Lunarorbit

Member
A lot of plastic actually can't be recycled and resued. Where do you think they're putting all that plastic many states are requiring you to recycle?

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Landfill.china stopped taking plastic years ago. Cancers are gonna skyrocket.

In a couple hundred million years the oil based creatures are gonna be confused why all the humans died out
 

Peter303

Member
I'd guess the popular brands are Nestle and Coca-cola related. What was that Coca-cola brand of water that was made to keep you thirsty?
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member

Washington (AFP) – Bottled water is up to a hundred times worse than previously thought when it comes to the number of tiny plastic bits it contains, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said Monday.

Using a recently invented technique, scientists counted on average 240,000 detectable fragments of plastic per liter of water in popular brands -- between 10-100 times higher than prior estimates -- raising potential health concerns that require further study.

"If people are concerned about nanoplastics in bottled water, it's reasonable to consider alternatives like tap water," Beizhan Yan, an associate research professor of geochemistry at Columbia University and a co-author of the paper told AFP.

But he added: "We do not advise against drinking bottled water when necessary, as the risk of dehydration can outweigh the potential impacts of nanoplastics exposure."

There has been rising global attention in recent years on microplastics, which break off from bigger sources of plastic and are now found everywhere from the polar ice caps to mountain peaks, rippling through ecosystems and finding their way into drinking water and food.

While microplastics are anything under 5 millimeters, nanoplastics are defined as particles below 1 micrometer, or a billionth of a meter -- so small they can pass through the digestive system and lungs, entering the bloodstream directly and from there to organs, including the brain and heart. They can also cross the placenta into the bodies of unborn babies.

There is limited research on their impacts on ecosystems and human health, though some early lab studies have linked them to toxic effects, including reproductive abnormalities and gastric issues.

To study nanoparticles in bottled water, the team used a technique called Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) microscopy, which was recently invented by one of the paper's co-authors, and works by probing samples with two lasers tuned to make specific molecules resonate, revealing what they are to a computer algorithm.

They tested three leading brands but chose not to name them, "because we believe all bottled water contain nanoplastics, so singling out three popular brands could be considered unfair," said Yan.

The results showed between 110,000 to 370,000 particles per liter, 90 percent of which were nanoplastics while the rest were microplastics.

The most common type was nylon -- which probably comes from plastic filters used to purify the water-- followed by polyethylene terephthalate or PET, which is what bottles are themselves made from, and leaches out when the bottle is squeezed. Other types of plastic enter the water when the cap is opened and closed.

Next, the team hopes to probe tap water, which has also been found to contain microplastics, though at far lower levels.
 

Soltype

Member
I stopped buying bottled water after I set up my RO system, I'm sure that's going to kill me in some other way too smh.
 

FunkMiller

Gold Member
What a shocker.

You can’t endlessly throw all that plastic into the world without it coming back to bite you in the ass eventually.

I haven’t bought bottled water for many, many years. Seems like a very good decision. Wonder how long it’ll be before we start to see health scandals brought about because people are walking around with a shit ton of plastic in them.
 
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Humdinger

Member
Interesting. Thanks for posting. I use a water distiller myself. I used to use the filtered pitchers, which are presumably better than bottled water (with respect to these microplastics, anyhow).

Let's not even talk about what you can find in tap water. Anyone for a glass of water with a dash of toilet paper, antidepressants, and tampons?
 

Mr Reasonable

Completely Unreasonable
I don't drink bottled water much because of the waste involved. That and the cost. And that tap water is held to higher health standards that some bottled water*.

I do have a Chilly's bottle though. You can fill it at the train station I travel to for free.



*that's in the UK
 
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GladiusFrog

Member
Damn, I live off a well and drink bottled water because I figured its safer then the oil and pesticides that inevitably filter down into the aquifer. Like my neighbors still use round up on their property and driveway... Bummer. 😞
 
The solution seems so simple. What's preventing the industry to move (back to) glass bottles?
Costs? I'm pretty sure most consumers are willing to pay a bit more of it saves their health and the environment.
I know there are some niche brands that sell their 'premium' water in glass bottles, and there's still the lively assortment of glass bottled alcoholic drinks.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Testosterone levels have been decreasing worldwide by around 1% per year. Some of this can be attributed to lifestyle changes, but not all. Microplastics (particularly phthalates) in the bloodstream have been linked to endocrine system disruption, especially testosterone production.

I go with reusable metal bottles whenever possible, but avoiding disposable plastic containers entirely is a difficult proposition in the modern world.

100 years from now our descendants will probably look back in horror at all this.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
The solution seems so simple. What's preventing the industry to move (back to) glass bottles?
Costs? I'm pretty sure most consumers are willing to pay a bit more of it saves their health and the environment.
I know there are some niche brands that sell their 'premium' water in glass bottles, and there's still the lively assortment of glass bottled alcoholic drinks.
Glass doesn't interact with liquid contents at all and can be recycled to a much higher degree than plastic can, too.
 
oh man, I only drink bottled water in China cause I don’t think the water in the city I’m at is safe to drink (don’t like the taste either). I guess I’ll just slowly become non-binary and trans. :)
 

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
German beer industry is the golden standard here. Glass bottles, which a nation wide deposit system. Bottles and the “Kasten” they come in get reused multiple times until they are ground down and remade into new bottles.

This should be mandatory everywhere. While reusing glass is more energy heavy compared to thermoplastics - it’s a more “healthy” container.

Aluminum cans have plastic lining on the inside, so a shitty way of distributing water/drinks.
 

Mr Reasonable

Completely Unreasonable
The solution seems so simple. What's preventing the industry to move (back to) glass bottles?
Costs? I'm pretty sure most consumers are willing to pay a bit more of it saves their health and the environment.
I know there are some niche brands that sell their 'premium' water in glass bottles, and there's still the lively assortment of glass bottled alcoholic drinks.

To be honest, given the ecological damage, and now damage to people's bodies, governments ought to be taxing single use plastics to oblivion.

100 years from now our descendants will probably look back in horror at all this.

Descendents in 100 years? Look at the optimism on this guy! Etc.
 

Nikodemos

Member
The sooner some supervillain releases a bacteria that breaks down plastic into base chemicals, the better. Immediate consequences be damned. This shit is quite literally slowly choking us to death.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
I stopped buying bottled water after I set up my RO system, I'm sure that's going to kill me in some other way too smh.
Im.not sure that would help. I think it's a 'contaminated' source issue more than a problem with the bottle. Pretty soon all ground water will probably have microplastics. If it kills off our gut bacteria we'll all die of dysentery or malnutrition even if the food chain survives.
 

Reallink

Member
Tap water and a Brita water filter and changing the filters each month seems like the best option.
They just said they suspect most of the plastic comes from the plastic filter, which presumably would be the same case for consumer filters in fridges or britas (which are all plastic). Househole plastic cups and every kind softdrink and juice drink in plastic bottles presumably sheds the same shit.
 
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jason10mm

Gold Member
Do milk jugs have micro plastics?


"The breast milk samples were taken from 34 healthy mothers, a week after giving birth in Rome, Italy. Microplastics were detected in 75% of them."
These are not the jugs he was looking for...
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badblue

Member
These are not the jugs he was looking for...
BW5KXro.gif
Breast are called "jugs" though.

But in all seriousness, If water in water bottles have micro plastics and human breast milk has micro plastics, Milk Jugs are going to have microplastics.


A total of 64 % of milk samples analysed have a moderate level of microplastic contamination based on the microplastic contamination factor values. All milk samples have an average microplastic polymer risk index of 255 ± 733, which indicates a medium level of risk. The result of this study shows that microplastics are common in milks analysed which will be directly consumed by human. The result of this study provide evidence that milks were being contaminated by microplastics mostly during production process rather than through package and suggest that to reduce microplastic contamination in milk, every step must be improved, starting with basic production.


 

GloveSlap

Member
I've heard polyester clothes are a big source of this as well since tons of little pieces break off every time you wash them.

I'd be interested to see a test on 5 stage reverse osmosis water since that is what i drink.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
They just said they suspect most of the plastic comes from the plastic filter, which presumably would be the same case for consumer filters in fridges or britas (which are all plastic). Househole plastic cups and every kind softdrink and juice drink in plastic bottles presumably sheds the same shit.
God help us.
 
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