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[–] 35 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Microplastics are going to be the next cigarettes, asbestos, radium, AND arsenic-drenched wallpaper. We're so fucked.

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  • [–] 17 points 3 days ago (4 children)

    We need to start cooking a new type of molecule to poison the next generation, we’re getting late! /s

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  • [–] 6 points 2 days ago (3 children)

    In terms of thematic similarity, sure.

    But in terms of magnitude of the impact, microplastics aren't nearly as dangerous as lead, asbestos, or cigarettes. Those lead to huge quality of life downgrades, and take decades off of a life.

    A society that replaces cigarettes with ubiquitous microplastics exposure will still improve the population's health outcomes, by a lot.

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  • That may be true for now, but what happens long term? Articles I've read say that microplastics in the body only accumulate, and don't really decrease. Maybe that's just because we're exposed to more everyday. But even then, reducing exposure will only get harder as more particles increase in the environment, from all the plastic breaking down. There must be some point at which effects start to show. What is the lethal dose? Or what is the dose that starts significantly increasing cancers? Or birth defects? Or something we haven't even considered?

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  • [–] 38 points 3 days ago* (8 children)

    What! You mean the bioaccumulating micro particles are not totally harmless? I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you.

    What's next? Are you gonna tell me water is wet, or fire is hot?

    Don't get me wrong, having the empirical validation (along with a mechanism) is nice, but this should cone as a shock to absolutely nobody.

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  • [–] 23 points 3 days ago (3 children)

    Honestly I remember hearing that plastic molecules are stable and inert, I thought microplastics wouldn’t cause problems beyond accumulating and “clogging”

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  • [–] 15 points 3 days ago (2 children)

    I mean... fiberglass and asbestos are actually chemically inert, yet they'll still fuck you up good. It's a bit silly to think any foreign contamination is harmless.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 days ago (1 child)

    Lead has a very stable nucleolus. Forever chemicals (PFAS) were named that because they were stable. CFCs were pretty harmless too until we learned about ozone layer.

    Anything that industry makes and distributes in large quantities throughout the world is pretty bad because by the time we learn about long term impacts, it's everywhere

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  • [–] 5 points 3 days ago

    but remember the mantra of these cretins for the past century or few; "the solution to pollution is dilution!". Never mind all the demonstrably terrible effects of quite a few things in the parts per billion/trillion...

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  • [–] 6 points 3 days ago (3 children)

    Well, not that shocked.

    Are you gonna tell me water is wet, or fire is hot?

    Oh god you’re going to make me “ackchually”

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  • [–] 4 points 3 days ago (2 children)

    If water makes things wet, and water is surrounded by more water is that water not also wet? 🤔

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  • [–] 11 points 3 days ago
    [–] 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 child)

    Papers mentioned in the article above:

    Intrinsic physicochemical activity at microplastic–water interfaces https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11141-y

    Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy https://www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2300582121

    Whoopsie, corrected link.

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  • [–] 8 points 3 days ago

    This is why you should be avoiding planet earth.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 days ago

    Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.

    Benjamin: Yes, sir.

    Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

    Benjamin: Yes, I am.

    Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

    Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?

    Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?

    A great future they said. 😭

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  • [–] 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

    the microplastics become biologically active when they come into contact with water. I think we all know the clear and sensible solution to the problem then: ban water.

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