Tiny, Harmful, And Absolutely Everywhere By Amelia Hobgood
People are surrounded by
tiny bits of plastic hidden within their everyday lives. These plastic bits may be small, but they pose a large threat to health and the environment. They are called microplastics. “Microplastics are basically residue of other plastic trash,” Environmental Science teacher Jeff Colborn said. These tiny bits of plastic come in two categories: primary and secondary. Primary microplastics are plastics that were already small to begin with. Things such as microfibers from clothing or plastic pellets called nurdles, that are melted to make other forms of plastic. The secondary microplastics are the result of larger plastics getting broken down, such as water bottles or wrappers. “Plastic is literally everywhere,” Colborn said. “It’s a pretty serious pollution problem.” Plastic surrounds everyone and it has become a massive part of peoples’ lives…. bottles, straws, lids, bags, and wrappers are just a few examples. Plastic is manufactured for almost everything humans use. The problem is that plastic is made to last for more than one lifetime, but it is
marketed to be thrown away after one use. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade because it was made to last so long, so over time, it breaks down into small pieces instead. “The problem is people don’t know what [microplastics] are,” Biology Teacher, Christine Stricker, said, “and they don’t know about the different kinds of products we use that have microplastics in them.” Microplastics are all over the oceans and the environment, but they are also in many different products created by humans. Eventually, these plastic bits make their way into the food chain, contaminating more than just humans’ digestive systems. “There are reasons to believe that we are all going to end up with measurable amounts of plastic pollution in our systems,” Colborn said, “because all our ecosystems are contaminated.” The oceans are filled with these tiny microplastics, which leads to fish ingesting the plastic. When they do, they aren’t able to digest it. So instead, the plastics are stored within their body. If another animal eats the fish, the plastic will stay undigested within the predator’s body. This undigested plastic eventually makes its way to humans. Throughout
are reasons to believe “There that we are all going to end up with measurable amounts of plastic pollution in our systems because all our ecosystems are
contaminated.
”
the world, it is estimated that humans consume 23 million tons of fish per year. When people consume the fish, they also consume the plastic that has been stored within the fish’s body. “Everything comes full circle and we use a lot of the environmental services for ourselves,” Keep Conifer Green member, junior Allie Westfall, said. But it’s not just the living animals that carry microplastics. Almost every kind of food comes in some form of plastic packaging, so microplastics could be consumed with anything. They could be ingested in foods like fruit, vegetables, or snacks. Microplastics can even be in the air and could be inhaled with every breath. Of course, they can be in drinks too. Keurigs are pots used to quickly boil water to make coffee or other hot beverages, but studies have shown that, when heated, the small plastic capsules used in Keurigs can have harmful effects. The plastic chemicals can act like estrogen and negatively affect hormones within the human body. At CHS, there are about 17 Keurigs distributed throughout various rooms, and these are just small examples of the harmful plastic items in the school. Everywhere you go, there will always be microplastics. It could be at a restaurant, at school... or even in your bloodstream. For the first time ever, scientists are detecting microplastics within human bloodstreams. These tiny particles were found in almost 80% of the people tested, according to The Guardian. A peer-reviewed study from the University of Rovira i Virgili discovered that microplastics may
25
