#plastic in the water

[reasonsforhope]

ETA: Article here (can't believe I forgot this rip)

A new study finds you can reduce the amount of microplastics you drink simply by boiling your water.

Scientists are just beginning to understand the health risks associated with microplastic exposure.

Nano- and microplastics are bits of plastic as tiny as one-thousandth of a millimeter in diameter.

Boiling and filtering your tap water may dramatically lower the amount of microplastics you drink, according to new research.

Recent studies have found that nano- and microplastics (NMPs), which are bits of plastic as tiny as one-thousandth of a millimeter in diameter, have been found in a host of products and even in tap water.

A new study, published February 28 in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, found that boiling mineral-rich water for just five minutes can reduce the amount of NMP you’re exposed to by up to 90%.

Scientists are just beginning to understand the health risks associated with microplastic exposureTrusted Source, but growing evidenceTrusted Source suggests the plastics can accumulate in the body and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, insulin resistance, and liver issues.

Certain advanced water filtration systems can capture and help remove some NMPs from tap water. But researchers wanted to figure out other options to remove microplastics, especially since in poorer countries cheaper, more accessible solutions for clean water are needed.

Boiling water may be a safe, simple solution that can effectively decontaminate household tap water, the new findings suggest.

“Boiling water before drinking is a great example of an ancient cultural practice that can help reduce an environmental exposure,” Dr. Luz Claudio, PhD, a professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told Healthline.

Claudio was not involved in the study.

How boiling water can help remove microplastics

The researchers found simply boiling water is the first step to removing NMPs from tap water.

The researchers collected multiple samples of tap water from Guangzhou, China and contaminated the samples with varying levels of NMPs.

Each sample was boiled for five minutes then left to cool for 10 minutes.

Boiling hard water that’s rich with minerals — such as calcium or magnesium — creates a chalk-like residue known as limescale, or calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which can trap the plastics.

That solid, chalky residue then had to be separated and removed from the water with a standard coffee filter or stainless steel filter, thereby removing NMPs.

The team found that the impact was greatest in harder water: In samples that had 300 milligrams of CaCO3, for example, nearly 90% of NMPs were removed.

In softer water samples with less than 60 mg of CaCO3, roughly 25% of NMPs were removed.

“What’s important to note here is that the effectiveness of trapping these micro/nano plastics in these mineral solids is tied to how hard the water is – the harder the water, the more solids are formed, the more microplastics are trapped,” Dr. Anja Brandon, PhD, the associate director of U.S. plastics policy at Ocean Conservancy and an environmental engineer, told Healthline.

Brandon was not involved in the study...

How to limit your exposure to microplastics 

Anyone who wishes to boil their water should do so in a glass or stainless steel pot.

After boiling the water for about five minutes, let it cool, and do not stir it, Claudio says.

The microplastics need to bind to the calcium and fall to the bottom of the pot so they can filtered or scooped out."

-via Healthline, February 28, 2024

[gender-trash]

when will i stop seeing posts of the genre "ah! you were supposed to automate away the BAD jobs, not the FUN CREATIVE ones! why not simply just [solve like 8 incredibly hard open problems in robotics] instead of [LLM thing]!"

like. sorry i apparently have to be the one to break this to you but the amount humans enjoy a task has basically zero correlation with how difficult it is to automate

[lelelego]

I really love your fallout drawings! I was in the NV fandom when the game first came out, and one thing I really love about your art is how youthful you make boone look. I can't remember if there's a canon age for him, but the fan consensus at the time was that he was like, 22-24 but your art is the first I've seen where he looks that age. bravo!

thank you so much!! :"D i remember seeing he's 25-26 on the wiki or somewhere but i'm 50% sure that's not confirmed/has no source. while part of it is just my style, but i do love a younger look for him because i think it makes the shit that happened to him worse (emoji where it's the sunglasses emoji but also it's crying.jpg) and hones in on the fact that he's... borderline still a kid. he should be at the club.

anyway thinking about him at the club -> me drawing what i think he would wear on a run to the corner store

[3-aem]

if u had the period cramp i just went through— it had me faint sweating numb and cold. it was so intense i was half convinced it wasn’t a cramp anymore and i was going to die and began composing a will on the spot at my coworkers bc as it turns out i would indeed rather die than call an ambulance in america

[deadsetobsessions]

DC x DP PROMPT

Danny, visiting Gotham, notices a concerning amount of shades gathered at the bays. Turns out, the bays are where Gothamite villains and goons alike dump bodies. This is very interesting to the Bats, who only figured out that this 6ft. something guy (who did not have a Gotham accent at all) kept lurking suspiciously near the waters.

Danny thinks Jay is a particularly strong shade because he’s had zero sleep, running around trying to help the shades: *trauma dumps to Hood*

[todayontumblr]

Friday, December 29

Everyone's opinion is valid unless your opinion is that seltzer water is bad.

IT's sPiCy. iT tAkEs lIKe sTaTiC. IT's lIkE bEeZlEbUb hImSeLf bUrPeD iNtO mY wAtEr.

Grow up. Enjoy the effervescent appeal of bubbly water. Feel the love of a thousand tiny friends caressing your esophagus as you sip on a Topo Chico.

Your ancestors' ancestors could never dream of quenching their thirst with something as magnificent as water with bubbles in it. You're spitting in the face of the Universe by not taking advantage of the privilege you have to live on this Earth at the same time as seltzer water.

[kacievvbbbb]

I think Mihawk and Garp would have the best relationship

In that I think Garp goes out of his way to relentlessly troll Mihawk by being stubbornly, purposefully, inept about the most mundane things while Mihawk, who knows exactly what he is doing and that he is being set up but ugghhhhhh, hates him on a level yet undiscovered by science.

He only gives the most tiniest of reactions to Garp’s ineptness, a brow furrowing a frown becoming deeper the tiniest twitch of an eye but Garp sees it, he knows that he’s succeeded and Mihawk hates him for it

Mihawk and Garp sitting at opposite ends of the giant ass warlord meeting table locked in an intense mental chess match unbeknownst to everyone in the room. Garp keeps waging psychological warfare on Mihawk by eating the pieces, everyone but him is extremely thrown when Mihawk unsheathes Yoru and lunges at Garp, who laughs manically, without warning

Mihawk tries to get some sympathy from Shanks but Shanks’ has found Garp and his shenanigans hilarious since he was five so he obviously thinks this is the best thing ever. It might also help that Mihawk tends to look like a puffed up pretty bird after every encounter with Garp but Shanks is just a man for Christ sake! he’s weak!

[wishchip106]

still wondering how they managed to keep his level of hygiene up after ten years

would’ve made more sense if his was matching with his ex husband

[thedisablednaturalist]

"Our filter, unlike plastic filters, does not contribute to further pollution as it uses renewable and biodegradable materials: tannic acids from plants, bark, wood and leaves, and wood sawdust—a forestry byproduct that is both widely available and renewable."

"In their research, the team analyzed microparticles shed from widely-used tea bags made of polypropylene. They observed that their technique, termed “bioCap,” captured between 95.2 percent and a staggering 99.9 percent of plastic particles in water, depending on the plastic type. When tested in mouse models, the process was proven to prevent the accumulation of microplastics in the organs"

They said this solution can be scaled up in places like water treatment plants and scaled down for use in the home as well. This is amazing news considering microplastics are one of the biggest problems impacting health these days.

[reasonsforhope]

"Legislative momentum against PFAS has surged this year, as at least 11 states enacted laws to restrict the use of “forever chemicals” in everyday consumer products or professional firefighting foam.

The legislation includes bans on PFAS in apparel, cleaning products, cookware, and cosmetic and menstrual products. Meanwhile, lawmakers in some states also passed measures that require industries to pay for testing or cleanup; order companies to disclose the use of PFAS in their products; and mandate or encourage the development of PFAS alternatives, according to Safer States, an alliance of environmental health groups focused on toxic chemicals.

In total this year, at least 16 states adopted 22 PFAS-related measures, according to the group. Since 2007, 30 states have approved 155 PFAS policies, the vast majority of them in the past five years.

The thousands of chemicals categorized as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, do not naturally break down and are found in the blood of 97% of Americans. Some PFAS compounds can harm the immune system, increase cancer risks and decrease fertility...

Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released new standards limiting PFAS in drinking water. Water systems have five years to comply with the rules. Even before the EPA action, 11 states had set their own limits on PFAS in drinking water, starting with New Jersey in 2018.

Water utilities and chemical manufacturers are challenging the new EPA standards. But states also are heading to the courthouse: So far, 30 states have sued PFAS manufacturers or key users for contaminating water supplies and other natural resources, according to Safer States...

Sarah Doll, national director of Safer States, said one reason states have been so successful in enacting PFAS limits is that more companies are willing to stop using the chemicals.

“When California restricted PFAS in textiles, all of a sudden you saw companies like REI saying, ‘We can, we’re going to do that. We’re going to move to alternatives,’” Doll said.

In Vermont, state lawmakers in April unanimously approved a measure banning the manufacture and sale of PFAS in cosmetics, menstrual products, incontinence products, artificial turf, textiles and cookware.

“The same as everyone else, like Democrats, we want to make sure that we remove PFAS and get it out of products as soon as we can,” said Vermont Republican state Rep. Michael Marcotte, who said his district includes cosmetics manufacturer Rozelle Cosmetics, in Westfield.

Democratic state Sen. Virginia Lyons, the chief sponsor of the Vermont bill, said it is particularly important to get PFAS out of products that are essential to consumers.

“There are some consumer products where you can say, ‘I don’t need to buy that, because I don’t want PFAS,’” Lyons said. “But it’s really tough to say that [about] a menstrual product.”

California’s latest PFAS measure, which Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last month, specifically bans the use of PFAS in menstrual products. Democratic Assemblymember Diane Papan, the author of the bill, said it was particularly strong because it covers both intentional and unintentional uses of PFAS, so “manufacturers will have to really be careful about what comes in their supply chain.”

While more states enact laws focused on specific products, Maine is preparing to implement the world’s first PFAS ban covering all consumer goods. The Maine law, which is scheduled to take effect in 2030, will include exceptions for “essential” products for which PFAS-free alternatives do not exist. Washington state has also taken a sweeping approach by giving regulators strict timelines to ban PFAS in many product categories.

[mindblowingscience]

Scientists from the University of Rochester have developed new electrochemical approaches to clean up pollution from "forever chemicals" found in clothing, food packaging, firefighting foams, and a wide array of other products. A new Journal of Catalysis study describes nanocatalysts developed to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS. The researchers, led by assistant professor of chemical engineering Astrid Müller, focused on a specific type of PFAS called Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which was once widely used for stain-resistant products but is now banned in much of the world for its harm to human and animal health. PFOS is still widespread and persistent in the environment despite being phased out by US manufacturers in the early 2000s, continuing to show up in water supplies.

Continue Reading.

[zootzar]

"..this is what you wanted to show me?"

"Superior to your filthy earthan oceans, isn't it?"

"..shut up zim."

[arc-hus]

Floating Bamboo House, Hồng Thái, Vietnam - H&P Architects

[crocswithoutsocks]

I found out there was an anteater LPS so obviously the only logical thing to do was go and buy one immediately and make it into Flint. My phone hates me so pictures are bad but look!!!!! That's a little guy!!!!!

[fruitypiestims]

Tiny bottles!

[kittycouch]

Idk if this is a hot take (idk who im even talking to) but ur cats and dogs want FRESH water daily. They can TASTE the DUST in old water. they DONT WANT DUST WATER. FRESH WATER EVERY DAY!!!!!!!