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Plastic is being used a lot in the lives of common people. Its use in home appliances including medicines and treatments has also increased. Most of the plastic used is thrown away by consumers after one use. This has become a big problem for the environment. Besides, it has also given rise to serious health problems. A recent study has shown that microplastics and nanoplastics can also cause heart attacks and strokes.
What are microplastics and nanoplastics?
A large amount of plastic is thrown away every day. This plastic breaks down into micro to nano forms which can be harmful to both the environment and humans. The term microplastics refers to pieces of plastic. Which are smaller than 0.5 mm in diameter. It is approximately the size of a grain of rice.
Nanoplastics are very small. These are only 100 nanometers or smaller. Microplastics and nanoplastics are present in many products, even tap water. According to a new study, you can reduce the amount of microplastics by boiling water.
can cause serious health problems
According to a study, exposure to microplastics causes a variety of toxic effects. In which problems like oxidative stress, metabolic syndrome, immune reaction, neurotoxicity can occur. It also affects developmental and reproductive health. It can also lead to abnormal organ development and increased risk of cancer.
What are microplastics?
Microplastics can come from a variety of sources including larger pieces of plastic that have broken down. Resin pellets used in plastic items may also contain microbeads. Microbeads are microplastics used in health and beauty products.
disadvantages of microplastics
Microplastics can disrupt food webs in freshwater ecosystems. This can have a negative impact on the health of aquatic animals. Microplastics can also pose a threat to human health. These can enter the food chain. This could cause potential harm to those people. Who consumes contaminated sea food or contaminated water.
What are nanoplastics?
Polythene is used for plastic bags and packaging. This is the most common type of microplastic found in the environment. It is also used for plastic bottles. Nanoplastics have very adverse effects on the human body.
Nanoplastics are more toxic than microplastics
Nanoplastics are more toxic than microplastics. Their small size makes them more apt to enter the human body than microplastics. Long-term exposure to nanoplastics causes endoplasmic reticulum stress, unfolded protein response, and fat metabolic syndrome. Nanoplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier after intravascular injection. It can accumulate in the brain.
It is necessary to boil water
The researchers found that if nanoplastics are to be removed from tap water, the first step is to boil it. Boiling hard water rich in minerals such as calcium or magnesium creates a chalky residue known as limescale or calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which can trap plastics. It can then be filtered out of water with a standard coffee filter or stainless steel filter.