WORLD WORLDWIDE ITALY SICILIA - news journal UPDATE - (en) Italy, FAS Sicilia Libertaria: Tell me how much plastic you eat and I'll tell you... what will happen to you - Brunella Missorici (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 According to the latest Future Brief on nanoplastics from the European

Commission for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, on
average an adult inhales or ingests 39,000 to 52,000 plastic particles
per year, equivalent to 5 grams of plastic per week, the equivalent of a
credit card. The particles ingested are microplastics, with dimensions
equal to or smaller than 5 millimeters, and nanoplastics, with
dimensions a thousand times smaller. The former derive from the
degradation of the plastic that makes up the objects we use. The latter
are divided into primary ones, if intentionally added to personal care
products, cosmetics, drugs, medical devices, pesticides, and secondary
ones if formed by fragmentation and/or deterioration, like what happens
every time we wash an item of clothing made of synthetic fiber.
According to a study, published in "Nature" in 2019, a third of the
plastic microfibers that end up in the sea and oceans every year come
from washing in the washing machine, this is 1.5 million microfibres per
kilogram of washed synthetic fabric. Worldwide, annual plastic
production has grown from less than 2 million tons in 1950 to 400
million today and is expected to double by 2040 and triple by 2060.
Microparticles enter the human body through inhalation, contact or by
ingestion of food and drink. The report then lists the toxic effects
detected in vitro, ranging from genotoxicity, oxidative stress and
inflammation, or in vivo on marine species and rodents, ranging from
damage to the microbiota, to problems with the circulatory system, to
pulmonary inflammation up to to neurotoxicity. In conclusion it is said
that the effects demonstrated in vitro and in vivo cannot, however, be
extrapolated to humans and, despite the potential risk, at the moment
there is no certain data on the effects on human health.

These data instead come from a study by the University of Campania Luigi
Vanvitelli in collaboration with other research bodies, published on 7
March 2024 in the "New England Journal of Medicine"; the study
demonstrates for the first time the presence of a mix of plastic
pollutants in the atherosclerotic plaques that block the arteries,
preventing the passage of blood. Measurable quantities of polyethylene
(PE) were found in 58.4% of cases and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in 12.5%;
in these patients the risk of events such as heart attacks, strokes and
mortality from all causes was up to 2 times higher higher than those who
did not have micro- and nanoplastics inside the plaques. The presence of
plastic also causes local inflammation which makes the plaques more
friable and exposed to rupture with the creation of thrombi capable of
obstructing smaller blood vessels. Furthermore, Prof. Antonio Ceriello
of the IRCSS Multimedica in Milan, another body involved in the
research, states that we must take into account the fact that, in
addition to nanoplastics capable of penetrating deep into tissues, other
studies have demonstrated the presence of larger fragments in many human
organs: particles up to 10 microns in the placenta, up to 15 microns in
breast milk and urine, up to 30 microns in the liver, up to 88 microns
in the lungs.

What we prefer not to say is that similar effects are caused by
microparticles derived from new bio-based plastics (obtained from plants
such as corn, which can be used for food) and biodegradable (produced
from fossil fuels, resources in the process of exhaustion and high
environmental impact). These new plastics have shorter degradation times
but are still sufficient to release micro and nanoparticles into the
environment which then reach humans. Therefore, the replacement of
non-biodegradable plastics with those considered to have a lower
environmental impact does not reduce the risks to human health but
increases a new market that thrives on this misunderstanding, yet
another example of greenwashing. The big brands such as Nestle,
Coca-Cola, Unilever, H&M, Ikea, by using part of recycled or
biodegradable plastic for production, do nothing but fuel convenience,
for them who increase profits and for us who do not change our style of
life, the 'myth' that we can fight the problem created by our
consumption by continuing to consume. All this at a time when it is
estimated that terrestrial pollution from microplastics is greater than
marine pollution and that their presence in children's blood is higher
than that of adults. And while a further danger is due to the ability of
these microparticles to convey toxic molecules, such as heavy metals, to
their surface, with a process called doping effect which favors their
entry into the cells and enhances their harmful effects at the cellular
and genetic. Not to mention the release of substances added to plastic,
such as colourants, hardeners, vitrifiers, additives whose harmful
effects are partly already known, as in the case of bisphenol and
phthalates, and which range from carcinogenicity to the action of
endocrine disruptors to be risk factors for degenerative diseases.

These dangerous particles are now present in all foods: crustaceans such
as shrimp and molluscs such as mussels and clams, fish, salt, honey,
beer, vegetables, fruit, meat, water especially that contained in
plastic bottles; they are also released by tea bag filters and those of
water purifiers. And then they are found in the air we breathe and in
many products, such as creams, toothpastes and make-up products, from
which we absorb them through the skin. What else do we need to know to
begin eliminating or at least reducing the production and use of these
harmful substances if we already cannot drink, eat or breathe without
being sure of not ingesting plastic?

Brunella Missorici

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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