Three Easy Ways to Protect Yourself from Plastic Pollution
Get rid of black plastic in your kitchen ASAP
The air around us is an invisible fog of microplastic particles and fibers—as many as several thousand particles per cubic meter of air.
Need-to-Know: Microplastic fallout is akin to being constantly exposed to radiation
Microplastic fallout is like radiation exposure: Invisible microplastics enter our bodies daily and penetrate virtually every organ.
Microplastic particles (MNPs) have been found throughout the body, including blood, kidneys, bladder, liver, and even in the brain.
On average, five grams of MNPs—the weight of a plastic spoon or a US nickel—were found in the brains of deceased people, according to a new study in Nature Medicine. Those with dementia had up to 10 times more MNPs.
Need-to-Know: Plastics linked to increases in many diseases
They damage the delicate tissues in our bodies while leaching some of the 16,000 chemicals in plastics, 25% of which are classified as highly hazardous to human and environmental health.
Yes, plastic pollution is really bad for our health.
Here are three easy ways to protect yourself:
Throw out all black plastic cooking utensils, food containers, toys, etc. Black plastic contains unregulated levels of toxic chemicals, including heavy metals, phthalates, and flame retardants. (It’s sometimes made from E-waste.) Throw them out now!
Drink filtered tap water instead of water in plastic bottles. Plastic bottled water can expose you to nearly as many microplastic particles annually as all other ingested and inhaled sources combined. (Avoid any beverage in plastic.)
Avoid microwaving food or storing food in plastic containers. Choose glass, ceramics, or steel instead. Microwaving can release 4 million to 2 billion MNPs per square centimeter in just three minutes. Even at room temperature, plastic containers shed particles.
Source: Plastic Education
I’ve interviewed many experts and read dozens of research papers on plastics over the years. Here are three other things you Need-to-Know to help reduce your plastic exposure.
Chicken nuggets contain 30 times more MNPs per gram than chicken breasts. Industrial food processing involves the use of plastic at various points.
Meats and seafood contain higher levels MNPs than plants.
A HEPA filter can remove significant amounts of airborne MNPs.
If you want to learn more about the health impacts of plastics, check out these three NtK posts from 2024.
Please share this with family and friends so that they can protect themselves.
Until next time, be well.
Stephen
"Microplastic fallout is akin to being constantly exposed to radiation". I hope you meant "exposed to high level radiation". "Radioactivity is a part of our earth - it has existed all along. Naturally occurring radioactive materials are present in its crust, the floors and walls of our homes, schools, or offices and in the food we eat and drink. There are radioactive gases in the air we breathe. Our own bodies - muscles, bones, and tissue - contain naturally occurring radioactive elements.
Man has always been exposed to natural radiation arising from the earth as well as from outside the earth. The radiation we receive from outer space is called cosmic radiation or cosmic rays." https://www.iaea.org/Publications/Factsheets/English/radlife There is no evidence of harm to human beings being exposed to less than 20 millisieverts per day. It is good you support science, and since you do, you'll enjoy this post. https://jackdevanney.substack.com/p/the-case-for-2-msvday-20