ZZ91 News: Recently, Scientific American reported a study published by East China Normal University: all Chinese salt samples collected contain “microplastics”, especially sea salt, more than 550 per kilogram – according to the usual salt The amount of "micro-plastics" that a person can eat in a year may exceed 1,000. Not much of the other salts, but they are also "pollution."

For a time the public was at a loss. What is “microplastic”? Why does it enter Chinese salt? What harm will it be if you eat it?

"Microplastic" refers to tiny plastic particles in nature, generally defined as less than 5 mm, which may be as small as a few microns or even smaller. These particles are derived from human activities and, most importantly, are discarded into plastics in nature. These plastics slowly degrade, slowly degrading into small pieces from large pieces of plastic, and finally become "microplastics."

But this is not the only source of microplastics. The monomer of human synthetic plastic is itself a "microplastic" and may enter the environment for various reasons. There are also some daily necessities, such as cosmetics, skin care products and toiletries, which also add some micro-plastic particles to improve the texture. These microplastics eventually enter nature. In addition, chemical fiber textiles will also wash out some micro-plastic particles into the wastewater during washing.

These microplastics degrade slowly in the natural environment and eventually accumulate in the sea as the earth's water circulates. From the current point of view, the speed of gathering far exceeds the speed at which they are completely decomposed, so there are more and more micro-plastics in the sea.

These micro-plastics have reached the sea and will naturally disturb the order in the sea. Those tiny micro-plastics can be swallowed by plankton and then enter the food chain and enter the fish and shrimps at the first level. On the other hand, some of the higher sea creatures do not have a pair of eye. For those plastics that flutter like "living things", they are also eaten as delicious. When you think about fishing, you can use plastic lures. You can't blame the fish and shrimp in the sea for hunger. In the 2015 Environment and Health Outlook magazine, a double belt was displayed, and 17 micro-plastics were found in the body.

What is the impact of these microplastics on health? The answer given by the scientists is: too complicated and unclear. Because the plastics produced by humans are varied and varied. After becoming micro-plastics, they may release toxic and harmful substances on the one hand, and may adsorb toxic and harmful substances on the other hand. When these microplastics enter the food chain, the toxic and harmful substances they carry will also pass along the food chain. In addition to being “toxic and harmful”, these substances also have the characteristics of “long-lasting” and “bioaccumulation” and are called PBT substances (PBT is an abbreviation for persistence, bioaccumulation and toxic).

Previously, the focus on microplastics was primarily on their delivery of PBT materials, which may have an impact on the quality and safety of seafood. The discovery of micro-plastics in salt has given us another alarm: micro-plastic particles may be eaten directly into the body with food! This is not a problem of "black-hearted manufacturers", nor is it a unique problem in China, but a situation that the whole world faces. The study by East China Normal University found that "China's salt contains micro-plastic particles", simply because the researchers in China, the samples collected are all Chinese.

What happens to these microplastic particles being eaten into the body? The answer given by the scientists is still - don't know. However, it is not difficult to imagine that the micro-plastics in the millimeters, micrometers and nanometers will have great differences in the behavior of entering the body. Scientists used microplastics to toss the mussels and found that micron-sized microplastics were detected in the lymphatic system after they reached the intestines. After the mussels are transferred from the microplastic-containing water to the clean water, the micro-plastic content in the circulatory system continues to rise and begins to decline after 12 days - they can stay in the circulatory system for up to 48 days.

It has also been confirmed in experiments that the smaller the particles of the microplastics, the easier it is to enter the circulatory system. The human body is of course much more advanced than mussels. Being able to enter the circulatory system of mussels does not mean that it can enter the human body's circulatory system - but what if it is a smaller particle? Just as PM2.5 affects the human respiratory system much more than those of large particles. If it is a smaller micro-plastic particle, is it possible to enter the blood or lymph through the digestive tract? There is no corresponding research at present, but the theoretical existence and potential impact on health make it a topic worth studying.

What makes us a little more reassuring is that mussels are very sensitive to environmental pollution and are often used as an "indication" for environmental pollution. In the previous experiments, although a significant amount of microplastics entered their circulatory system, they did not show significant differences. The human body's defense system against "foreign objects" is much stronger than mussels. Considering that people eat less salt, the amount of micro-plastics that are eaten from salt every day is no more than a few, which may cause obvious harm. Sex is not too big, so we don't have to worry about it.

The concept of "microplastics" was introduced in 2004 by Professor Richard Thomson of the United Kingdom. In what way does nature circulate in nature, in what way it enters the food chain, and how it affects human health... In the words of Professor Thomson, "the problem is more than the answer." In 2014, the US Environmental Protection Agency invited world-class experts in related fields to hold a discussion. In the end, many questions were raised, but the answers could not be given—research, more research, more in-depth research, waiting for scientists and the government. Invest.

For the public, it may be more worth noting that not only sea salt is “rich” in micro-plastics, but also salt from lakes and mines. This seems to tell us that human-made plastic pollution has spread all over the globe. Humans make plastic, use plastic, discard plastic, and finally plastic can return to the human body through microplastics.

Although we do not know how much these microplastics have an impact on human health, they must be unhelpful.

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