The pollution of the ocean is not only the rubber bags, empty bottles and fish nets that we can see with the naked eye, but also the microplastics that we don’t pay much attention to. Microplastics refer to plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, and can be from raw material particles, artificial fibers, micro-gel beads in skin care products, and also from plastic fragments that have not been completely decomposed by nature, such as foaming gel and food packaging.
Among them, polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) are mostly used on the coastline. Microplastics can enter the body from food, air or through the skin. A study by an Australian university pointed out that the average person eats 5G of plastic every week, which is about the same as one credit card.
Microplastics have appeared on land and in the ocean, and Hong Kong waters are certainly not immune. Fish and shellfish mistake microplastics for food and eat them. Undigested gum can lead to intestinal congestion. The absorbed glue can continue to accumulate in the body, enter the food chain, and finally enter the human body.
Microplastics are also mixed with other toxic substances such as polybrominated diphenylethers (PBEDs) used in plastic flame retardants. Flame retardants can affect endocrine function, cause cancer and cause infertility. Large fish eat smaller fish, and the concentration and toxicity continue to rise. And since birds hunt fish, the toxins can also affect these seabirds.
So what impact does microplastic have on the human body? The medical community has begun to pay attention to it in recent years, but the data is not abundant. Studies have shown that less than 0.3% of microplastics can enter the bloodstream from the human digestive system. Microplastics can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, affect the endocrine system, nervous system, cause cancer, and can even cross the placenta! So it’s better to eat less.
Some types of seafood, such as shellfish, are more likely to absorb microplastics because humans eat them together with their digestive systems. But microplastics not only appear in the digestive system, but also spread to the muscles through the circulatory system. Therefore, just eating fish will also eat microplastics.
I still remember an environmental advertisement more than ten years ago. During a Chinese feast, the clerk placed a large steamed fish in the center of a round table and cut its belly open with a knife. The black pollutants flowed out of the fish belly. It is urgent to conserve the ocean. Reduce plastic! Minimizing the use of plastic tableware and plastic containers to hold food or drinks can reduce the chance of microplastics entering the body.
▲ Radiology Specialist Dr. Shum Sing Fai, John
Original link:https://bit.ly/3OmheUj