Small particles are released by vehicles as they drive on roads. Wearing and washing clothing made from synthetic fibres, such as nylon, acrylic, or polyester, can release small fibers. Although you won’t be able to see them all, microplastics are constantly entering the environment.
Plastic just keeps breaking down in the environment into smaller pieces: first microplastics, then nanoplastics.
Some microplastics can easily be seen with the naked eye. However, smaller microplastics cannot be seen using a microscope according to Nathalie Tufenkji (tier 1 Canada Research Chair on Biocolloids, Surfaces). They can be as small as a few micrometres in size, or as large at a few millimetres. [0.001 of a millimetre]. You could end up with millions, if not billions, of nanoplastics if one microplastic is broken down into nanoplastics.
It’s all down the drain
Synthetic material can be released into the wastewater pipeline by breaking down and possibly releasing microplastics. Although water treatment facilities may remove some of the particles, microplastics as well as nanoplastics can still end up in natural waters and rivers, on farms, and in our air.
Microplastics can also be found in wastewater. Some fragile plastic products in our homes break down and find their way into our drains.
We know that [even some]Tufenkji shares that bulk products can be broken down into microplastics. Research into microplastics in wastewater has revealed a lot of polyethylene.
Tufenkji, along with her team, are making great strides in removing nanoplastics and microplastics from water. They ran simulations of wastewater treatment that removed 97% of polyester and 99% of weathered polyethylenefibers.
There is still much to be done to understand the damage they cause and how to prevent their release into our environment. Tufenkji explains that we need to understand:
- How does the body deal with these chemicals, particles, and material?
- What are the possible effects of these particles?
- How can shape and size impact their effects?
- Are the health effects of the additives different?
- Do we just have to eliminate these microplastics every time we go to the toilet?
Tufenkji explains that plastics are made of carbon which is one of their challenges. There is. [already]There is a lot of carbon found in soil. If you are looking for microplastics or other nanoplastics in your environment, it is not like looking in a haystack for a needle.
If we have better technology and techniques to detect microplastics or nanoplastics in different environments, we can address some of these issues.
Winter masks
Incorrectly discarded masks have been a common sight on streets and sidewalks since the COVID-19 pandemic. Tufenkjis’ team exposed masks in water to see if they would release microplastics faster than thawing and freezing cycles. They discovered that masks release a lot plastic fibers.
With an estimated 65 billion gloves and 129 million masksProfessor Tufenkji says that the world uses approximately one million of these masks per month. This is to prevent a flood of microplastics from entering our environment.
Professor Tufenkji says that although we aren’t sure about the impact, it is clear that it is an undesirable scenario.
Prof. Tufenkji states that the priority is to reduce microplastics at source. It is relatively simple to reduce single-use plastics. It is easy to imagine how many single-use plastic bags you have, how many single-use containers, cutlery, and plastic wrappers you have. Tufenkji states that Canadians can now do something to protect their environment.
Tufenkji, one of many scientists who have teamed up to help Canadians make better decisions, is one of the scientists who has partnered with OceanDiagnosticsB.C. Environmental impact company that is creating new techniques and TechnologiesTo help scientists detect microplastics, the current public awareness campaign about microplastics and where they are coming from, how they impact our communities and environment, and what the public can to do about it.
She said that the global fight against plastic contamination is moving in the right directions. There is a lot of research being done… In the next decade we are going to see the emergence of new materials and new technologies to help us deal with plastic pollution. We are also witnessing a shift in customer behavior and consumer interest in this problem. I believe we will see improvements in the fight against plastic pollution.
