nurdles

While plastic comes in all different shapes and sizes, those that are less than five millimeters in length are called microplastics. Primary sources of microplastics include microfibers from clothing, microbeads, and plastic pellets (known as nurdles). Secondary sources of microplastics come from larger plastic debris, like bottles and bags, that degrades into smaller bits over time.

Microplastic pollution can be found everywhere on earth, from the top of the tallest mountains to the bottom of the deepest oceans. Microplastics are in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.

According to research recently published in the journal Exposure & Health, humans ingest an average of five grams of plastic particles per week. This is roughly equivalent to the weight of a credit card. The plastic particles are trafficked in via food, such as seafood and salt in particular, as well as water. In fact, those who rely on plastic bottled water for their drinking needs ingest an additional 1,700 plastic particles each week.

Microplastics have also been detected in human blood for the first time. According to new research recently published in the journal Environment International, scientists detected microplastics in nearly 80% of the people they tested.

Half of the blood samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used for drinking bottles. One third of the blood samples contained polystyrene plastic, which is often used for food packaging. One quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene plastic, which is used to make things like shopping bags and detergent bottles.

With plastic production predicted to double by 2040, more research is urgently needed to understand how ingesting microplastics affects human health.

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Health risk due to micro- and nanoplastics in food

Microplastics found in human blood for first time

Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood

Photo, posted November 3, 2012, courtesy of Laura via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Just when we thought we knew all about the environmental threats caused by plastics, environmentalists have identified yet another problem. It is called a nurdle.

Nurdles are tiny pellets of plastic resin no bigger than a pencil eraser that manufacturers transform into packaging, plastic straws, water bottles and all the other things that are wreaking havoc on the environment.

It turns out that nurdles themselves are a problem because billions of them are lost from production and supply chains during handling, shipping and production every year, spilling or washing into waterways. There is limited information on the extent of this kind of plastic pollution and global researchers are still struggling to make an accurate assessment. A study last year estimated that 3 million to 36 million pellets escape every year from just one small industrial area in Sweden.

Eunomia, a British environmental consultancy, contends that nurdles are the second-largest source of microplastic pollution and estimated that the U.K. could be unwittingly losing billions of pellets into the environment every year.

New research is revealing the ubiquity of plastic pellets, from the bellies of fish caught in the South Pacific, to the digestive tracks of short-tailed albatross in the north and on the beaches of the Mediterranean.

A shareholder advocacy group called As You Sow has filed resolutions with Chevron, DowDupont, Exxon Mobil, and Phillips 66 asking them to disclose how many nurdles escape their production process each year and how they plan to address the issue. Several of the companies have responded with statements saying they are working to develop solutions that keep plastic out of our environment.

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There’s a Tiny Plastic Enemy Threatening the Planet’s Oceans

Photo, posted January 15, 2014, courtesy of Hillary Daniels via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Humans And Microplastics | Earth Wise

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The Threat From Nurdles

Just when we thought we knew all about the environmental threats caused by plastics, environmentalists have identified yet another problem. It is called a nurdle.

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