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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday August 22 2019, @06:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the does-this-taste-plasticky-to-you? dept.

Microplastics in water not harmful to humans, says WHO report

Microplastics are increasingly found in drinking water, but there is no evidence so far that this poses a risk to humans, according to a new assessment by the World Health Organization.

However, the United Nations body warned against complacency because more research is needed to fully understand how plastic spreads into the environment and works its way through human bodies.

There is no universally agreed definition of microplastics but they are generally considered to be smaller than half a millimetre across.

Plastic production has grown exponentially in recent decades and is predicted to double again by 2025, said the report, which means more beads and threads are breaking down into minute particles and winding up in water supplies, pipes, cups, throats and bellies. Studies suggest bottled drinking water even contains minuscule elements of the polymers used in the container and cap.

Also at CNN.

Related: Car Tyres Cause 55% of Microplastic Waste, According to Study
Paper on Microplastic's Harm to Fish Will Likely be Retracted
Microplastics Found in 90 Percent of Table Salt


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @07:56AM (14 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @07:56AM (#883507)

    Their track record..

    1950: Five out of six doctors prefer Lucky Strike cigarettes
    1960: Take thalidomode for morning sickness
    1970: Paint your baby's cradle with lead-based paint... tastes great!

    I'll avoid their recommendation to drink microplastics until all the results are in.

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @07:59AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @07:59AM (#883509)

    They're organic. They must be good for you.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday August 22 2019, @02:44PM

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 22 2019, @02:44PM (#883637) Journal

      They don't have to be good for you. They only have to taste good. Deliciously addictive. Please don't question the health benefits when corporate profits are at steak.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @03:28PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @03:28PM (#883670)

      Saw a beer advertised as "made with organic alcohol."

      • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:46PM (2 children)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:46PM (#883795)

        I planted tomatillo seeds last year from a packet labelled "organic tomatillo seeds". I looked, but the shop didn't seem to stock the inorganic ones.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:27PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:27PM (#883804)

          I mocked them but there is some small amount of validity, you can be reasonably assured that they won't contain traces of poison from Monsanto and company. Same for seeds, though I would say organic seeds are more ridiculous than organic alcohol.

          • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:34PM

            by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:34PM (#883808) Journal

            Unfortunately not. There is reasonable evidence that seeds coated with nicotinoids produce plants that produce pollen that is harmful to bees. But there's absolutely no labeling requirement.

            --
            Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Wodan on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:06AM (2 children)

    by Wodan (517) on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:06AM (#883521)

    Sadly drinking and eating microplastics is not optional, they've been found in basically everything.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:13AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:13AM (#883522)

      Then we should ban them!
      A few fines handed out and we'll be sorted.
      Just put the first one on notice. Say for ONE MILLION DOLLARS and everyone will fall into line.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @06:33PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @06:33PM (#884280)

        The European Chemicals Agency says that 10,000 to 60,000 tonnes of microplastics intentionally added to products leak into the environment yearly, are impossible to remove and last for thousands of years. [...] The restriction is expected to become law across Europe by 2020. [...]

        Yes, banning them is the only way. Some things should not be created/used, that is why we have a ban on a lot of chemicals. It does work if you can root out the worst corruption. What is your comment anyway? "They'll do it anyway so fuck it!"???

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:23AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:23AM (#883523)

    I think you're full of shit. If not, provide citations for your claims.

    • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by DannyB on Thursday August 22 2019, @02:40PM (1 child)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 22 2019, @02:40PM (#883634) Journal

      1. More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette [youtube.com] So maybe Lucky Strike will have something say about this.

      2. Take thalidomide for morning sickness [wikipedia.org] The exact quote is: Researchers at Chemie Grünenthal also found that thalidomide was a particularly effective antiemetic that had an inhibitory effect on morning sickness.[28] Hence, on October 1, 1957, the company launched thalidomide and began marketing it under the trade name Contergan.[29][30] It was proclaimed a "wonder drug" for insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches.

      3. While I can find plenty of warnings against using lead based paint for baby cribs, I cannot find any recommendations to use lead based paint.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by FatPhil on Thursday August 22 2019, @04:22PM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday August 22 2019, @04:22PM (#883693) Homepage
        1. Nothing to do with the WHO. What you've posted is an entirely US thing, so supports the hypothesis "The US is full of bullshit" more than t does "The WHO is full of bullshit".

        2. The only reference to the WHO in that is "the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it did not recommend thalidomide".

        3. mu
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by hendrikboom on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:00AM

    by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:00AM (#883528) Homepage Journal

    Was that the WHO itself that said that? Or was it merely widely spread medical "knowledge" that may have been propagated by the drug companies?

    -- hendrik

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Thursday August 22 2019, @05:46PM

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday August 22 2019, @05:46PM (#883731) Journal

    1950: Five out of six doctors prefer Lucky Strike cigarettes

    Bullshit!

    When Cigarette Companies Used Doctors to Push Smoking [history.com]

    In 1930, it published an ad claiming “20,679 Physicians say ‘LUCKIES are less irritating’” to the throat. To get this number, the company’s ad agency had sent physicians cartons of Lucky Strike cigarettes and a letter asking if they thought Lucky Strikes were “less irritating to sensitive and tender throats than other cigarettes,” while noting “a good many people” had already said they were.

    That's eighteen years before the WHO even existed.