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1)
What is defined as microplastics?
They are not
another kind of plastics. Microplastics are the small pieces of
plastics that are less than 5mm in length.
They are made of
synthetic polymers chains with carbon and hydrogen atoms. Besides, Toxic
substances like dioxin, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and
Polychlorinated biphenyl is present as the ingredients in Microplastics or
absorbed by the microplastics in the environment.
Microplastics are
non-biodegrade and stay in the environment for a long time.
Microplastics are recently found everywhere in global marine ecosystems. As
they can bioaccumulate through the marine food web and finally cause health problems
in the human, researchers became more interested in the health and
environmental effects of microplastics.
2)
What are the types of microplastics?
Primary microplastics:
They are intently produced as ingredients for many industrial applications.
Microplastics are added as microbeads in skincare products in
the cosmetics industry to remove dead cells and open the pores in the skin. In
lipsticks, microbeads are added as an emulsifying agent. Microbeads are also
found in some personal care toothpaste, face washes, shaving creams,
sunscreens, and face scrubs. Another type of microplastics is synthetics
fibers that are used in manufacturing tires and synthetic clothes.
Secondary microplastics:
Unlike other materials, plastics are not fully degraded into carbon, hydrogen,
and oxygen back. Instead, they are partially broken down into smaller pieces
called microplastics.
3)
How do the microplastics contaminate
the environment?
Microbeads in cosmetics
and personal care products release into the environment from rising off the
body. Microfibers leach out of the synthetic clothes during the washing
process. As microplastics are too small, they can be removed by the filtration
techniques available in the sewage water treatment plants. So, eventually,
microplastics make their way into aquatic bodies like rivers, lakes, and ocean
and soil in the environment.
And also, synthetic
fibers are detached onto roads from tiers; they end up in aquatic bodies
through runoff. Microplastics can be leaked from the products during production,
distribution, and selling.
The secondary
microplastics are produced in the environment when plastic-based products are
washed away into aquatic ecosystems or household waste, and waste from the
fishing industry are thrown away into the ocean. These plastics are carried out
by ocean currents and form large garbage patches in the sea. In the
environment, these plastics are subjected to weathering by natural factors like
high temperature, oxidation, wave action, UV radiation, and physical forces. These
factors accelerate the degradation of plastics. It results in a large number of
microplastics in the environment.
4)
Environmental effects
Effects on aquatic
organisms: Microplastics mimics the zooplankton and
phytoplankton in the marine ecosystems. So, microplastics are mistakenly eaten
by aquatic birds, fishes, crustaceans, and other aquatic organisms. The
consumption of non-digestible, nonnutritious microplastics leads to starvation
and the development of malnutrition conditions in the marine organisms. The
digestion of microplastics ingested marine organisms is interrupted by blocking
the digestive tract.
Bioaccumulation through
marine food webs: toxic chemicals in the microplastics are
transferred through the niches in the food webs. Ultimately, it increases the the concentration of such toxic compounds in the marine animals at the top
level.
Provide a surface for
spreading invasive species: Small size marine organisms use
microplastics as an ideal surface for spreading into long distances through the
ocean currents.
5)
Effects on human health
Human are at greater risk
for ill-health conditions as people daily intake contaminated foods and water
by microplastics
Endocrine disruptors:
Bisphenols leaching from microplastics can act as endocrine disruptors and
leads to infertility in both women and men.
Carcinogens:
Chemicals compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls in microplastics serve as
carcinogens to humans.
6)
What are the solutions for
microplastic pollution?
Proper disposal of
plastic waste: Plastic waste should be segregated from
other waste at the household level. Then plastics with high quality should be
sent for recycling facility and plastics contaminated by other materials like
cosmetics should be disposed of in a sanitary landfill. The use of plastics in
outdoor functions should be limited, or plastics should be collected at the end
of the function. Thereby, the degradation or fragmentation of plastics in the
environment can be stopped.
The recollection of
storage containers of products: Manufactures provides facilities to recollect
the plastic storage containers. So, containers can be sent for recycling and
produce new containers for production.
Costumers’
responsibility: Customers have to make a wise decision when they buy goods for
themselves. They must prevent purchasing products with microplastics as raw
materials.
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