Dri’s Series from South Africa, Part Two: The Situation
Hey peeps, Caroline here.
As you remember from my last post in the series “Dri’s Series from South Africa Part One: Allow Me to Introduce Myself” I’m pretty curious about the issue of ocean plastics and microplastics, understanding the basics around who, what, when, where and freaking WHY.
As we already know that ocean plastic has been detrimental to the health and abundance of marine ecosystems, I am specifically curious about what ocean plastics and microplastics may be doing to our health as human beings. So I’ve decided to take on a little research initiative, exploring the basis of the problem, the ways humans are exposed to microplastics (spoiler alert: pretty much everywhere), and what we do know about its impact on human health. There’s some definite gaps in the current research and much work to be done in bridging said gaps, but here’s a recap of what I discovered when I dove in:
The basics: Ocean plastic→ Microplastic
More than ten million tonnes of plastic waste enters the sea every year. The sun and sea break down these larger plastics into teeny-tiny particles - aka microplastics.
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are particles of plastic that are often barely visible to the human eye- the most common is known as polyethylene terephthalate (or PET) and is most commonly used in plastic bottles, packaging, and food containers. Microplastics result when small plastic particles (such as microbeads) or larger plastic objects (like shopping bags or food containers) are carried into the environment and break down into smaller plastic particles that accumulate as coastal and deep-sea sediments.
How prevalent are microplastics in the ocean?
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) quantified microplastics from the Great Australian Bight and conservatively estimated that 14 million tonnes of microplastic reside on the ocean floor. Yikes, I know.
Researchers at California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium have used technology to deep dive in the ocean and have found microplastics as far as 600 feet below the ocean surface.
The majority of microplastics arise from land-based sources and reach the oceans through rivers, runoff, deposition from the atmosphere (aka weather like rain and snow), and direct dumping.
Microplastics take hundreds of thousands of years to break down in the environment.
How are humans exposed to microplastics and how do they get in our food chain?
Human exposure to microplastics occurs on the reg unfortunately; microplastics are present in food sources, water, air, and a wide variety of consumer products…definitely not ideal. We’re exposed via ingestion, inhalation, and dermal (i.e. skin) contact. Ick.
When it comes to the ocean, microplastics have been a variety of marine life, including plankton, whales, and commercial seafood that humans consume- notably fish and shellfish.
More simply put, plastics and microplastics wind up in ocean water, which is consumed by marine wildlife, which are then consumed by humans.
What are the known implications of microplastics on human health?
Let’s be honest, nothing good. Plastics contain a whole bunch of chemicals that make them colorful, waterproof, flame-resistant and flexible. When plastics break down into microplastics they contain these too- carcinogens, neurotoxins, and endocrine disruptors.
Although much more research needs to be done, scientists ultimately predict that the continued increased ingestion of the toxic chemicals in microplastics can interfere with hormones and fertility, can cause cancers, and damage to the nervous system.
In a study published on March 24th, 2022, scientists confirmed they’d discovered microplastics in human blood. For the sake of your sleep tonight, we’ll let you decide if you want to dig into that one or not.
So let's call a spade a spade; it’s clear that microplastics in our oceans most definitely do not help marine wildlife or human health. But don’t panic! If you stick with me, you’ll see that there’s insanely smart people tackling this problem, changing the way it’s framed and approached, and making incredible strides that we all have the power to get behind, support, and maybe even shout from the rooftops….My next post does just that.
‘Til next time,
Car
