Materials News
Eliminating microplastics with breakthrough innovations The growing global problem of microplastics is prompting industry experts and companies to develop novel ways to banish microplastics from the environment, says Angelica Buan in this report. Health-hazard particles up in the air It is not a typical Hollywood film effect but microplastics falling from the sk y are real – and should be taken seriously. Recent studies have shown that microplastics are no longer concentrated only in the oceans. M i s m a n a g e d wa s t e s t h a t a r e e i t h e r l a n d f i l l e d o r entering the oceans break down into tiny pieces, and are circulated in the atmosphere. One recent study by researcher s at Cornell and Utah State Universities says that microplastics from the oceans, roads and agricultural soils are purged into the atmosphere via mechanical processes. The airborne 2.5 micron or less in size microplastic wafts from urban areas to remote areas. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found this plastic cycle to be similar to the biogeochemical cycles of water or nitrogen. Inhaling contaminants is certainly bad for health, adds a study done by researchers from the Florida State
University (FSU). Published in Chemical Research in Toxicology, the study says that exposure to microplastics, even only for a few days, may disrupt the lung’s cellular function. The team led by FSU Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Amy Sang, research specialist Joan Hare, doctoral students Kerestin Goodman and Timothy Hua, and former FSU graduate student Zahraa Khamis, exposed lung cells in a petri dish to small amounts of PS, used in common disposable items. The experiment showed that microplastics can slow down the lung cells’ metabolism and growth; as well as alter the shapes. Declustering also occurred so that gaps existed in what is typically a solid sheet of cells. Additionally, the rapid migration of the plastics towards the nucleus resulted in the microplastic particles forming a ring around the cell’s nucleus, raising concerns that will be a focus of succeeding studies. The findings may be helpful to under stand the effect of microplastics, particularly for indi viduals
A new study says that mismanaged plastic wastes break down into fragments, and circulate in the atmosphere
6
JUNE 2021
