“Disturbingly, other studies also suggest there are far greater numbers of microplastics present at a greater depth than sampled during our study. “Our analysis found microplastics were present in the vast majority of the waters sampled by Jon, even in very remote ocean areas of the Southern Hemisphere. They also intend to continue to rigorously confirm the non-toxicity of any chemical compounds occurring as intermediates or by-products during microplastics decomposition. As no two microplastics are chemically identical, the next steps for the researchers will be to ensure the nanosprings work on microplastics of different compositions, shapes and origins.
In the Dutch study, half of the participants with particles in their blood had PET plastic, which is often used in drink bottles; a third had polystyrene, commonly used to package food; and a quarter had polyethylene, used to make plastic shopping bags. “Now that we know microplastics are circulating in human blood, there is a very real possibility we could see the same happen. They might use the human circulatory system as a highway to get into other places within our body. “Thankfully, through 墨尔本美容院 Council’s various litter reduction initiatives and engagement with local businesses around reducing single use plastic packaging, we have seen a decrease in litter at Bondi Beach during the past 12 years, and this is very promising. “The variety of microplastics that volunteers managed to find at Bondi Beach in just a short amount of time was a real eye opener and a sobering reminder of the need to limit single-use plastics and dispose of litter correctly at all times,” Mayor Masselos said.

“When we saw these results in the lab, we recognised immediately the potential impact they might have,” said Professor John Boland from AMBER, CRANN and Trinity’s School of Chemistry. The team found that the overall average daily consumption of PP-MPs by infants per capita was 1,580,000 particles. PP-IFBs can release up to 16 million MPs and trillions of smaller nanoplastics per litre. Furthermore, Mr Staheyeff explained that while anyone who enters the site and disturbs the material can potentially be exposed to asbestos, generally the potential for those fibres to become liberated offsite is low.
First is the choice of flooring, with hard surfaces, including polished wood floors, likely to have fewer microplastics than carpeted floors. For a five-year-old, this would be equivalent to eating a garden pea’s worth of microplastics over the course of a year. Roughly a quarter of all of the fibres we recorded were less than 250 micrometres in size, meaning they can be inhaled. This means we can be internally exposed to these microplastics and any contaminants attached to them. People spend up to 90% of their time indoors and therefore the greatest risk of exposure to microplastics is in the home. Microplastics are typically smaller than a grain of rice and often referred to as “tiny pieces of human society”.
“We have allowed companies to produce products with no stewardship over what happens when the products end up as waste. However, the ability of plastics to act as vehicles for toxins and pathogens drawn from the aquatic environment is well known. The research, conducted on Murray River rainbow fish, for the first time measured the toxins accumulated in the tissue of fish that had been fed “environmentally relevant” amounts of the chemical-spiked polyethylene beads.

They hope their work will also impact community views on the microplastic issue and government policies around sustainability “It’s difficult to solve a problem you can’t see,” Dr Joshi says. Once in the water, microbeads have the potential to cause harm in the environment and to human health due to their composition, ability to attract toxins and to transfer up the food chain. Microbeads persist in the environment as they do not readily biodegrade and are almost impossible to remove from the environment due to their size.
In recognition of the United Nations World Oceans Day on 8 June, we dive in to the research and international contributions of our University of Sydney Marine Studies Institute. The accord envisaged two- and three-year phase-out dates for existing products, partly to reflect the need for regulatory procedures such as Therapeutic Goods Administration approvals for replacement products. Dr Browne recalled holding talks with officials from Nike, the sports apparel manufacturer, about the issue of clothing shedding synthetic fibres. Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, who chaired the Senate inquiry, told The Medical Republic he would renew the demand for stronger action in the current session of parliament. Dr Clarke said it was “difficult to distil the health consequences” of his findings, but the POP compounds had been linked with reproductive health problems and immunological and neurological damage.

Dr Jing Jing Wang from the Microplastics Group at AMBER and CRANN said, “While this research points to the role of plastic products as a direct source of microplastic, the removal of microplastics from the environment and our water supplies remains a key future challenge. Our team will investigate specific mechanisms of micro and nano plastic release during food preparation in a host of different contexts. The Committee fully supports the introduction of a product stewardship scheme to better manage this waste stream and reduce the volume of solar panels disposed in landfill. The Committee received limited evidence regarding innovative ways to manage waste in our oceans and waterways.
The Committee received little evidence regarding the management of hazardous waste on mining sites. It is essential that hazardous waste is limited and contained to the site where it was created and poses no risk to surrounding communities, water ways or the environment. Opportunities to re-use old mining sites through backfilling or re-mining should be explored. Significant work is underway to support this goal, all of which is set out in the National Food Waste Strategy, Roadmap and the National Waste Policy Action Plan. The Commonwealth Government is funding the Fight Food Waste Co-operative Research Centre, and recently advertised a ‘partnership call’ to establish a National Food Waste Governance Entity to deliver the National Food Waste Strategy.
“If plastic contaminants can be repurposed as food for algae growth, it will be a triumph for using biotechnology to solve environmental problems in ways that are both green and cost efficient,” he said. Although often invisible to the naked eye, microplastics are omnipresent pollutants. Some, such as the exfoliating beads found in popular cosmetics, are simply too small to be filtered out during industrial water treatment. Others are produced indirectly, when larger debris like plastic bottles weather amid sun and sand. Tiny coil-shaped magnets have been used to develop a new approach to purging water sources of microplastics without harming nearby microorganisms. One of the founding members of Port Augusta Coastcare, Melissa Clifton, said they had not found too much evidence of microplastics so far.

The coiled shape of the carbon nanotubes increases stability and maximises reactive surface area. As a bonus, by including a small amount of manganese, buried far from the surface of the nanotubes to prevent it from leaching into water, the minute springs became magnetic. Reactive oxygen species are often produced using heavy metals such as iron or cobalt, which are dangerous pollutants in their own right and thus unsuitable in an environmental context. In addition to monitoring, the 20-plus members of Port Augusta Coastcare are involved in beach clean ups and at Yorkey's Crossing. Ms Clifton said a key role in the monitoring was to care for, and ensure the health of, the Spencer Gulf and infrastructure. The filaments were often produced by household washing machines, and particles transported with litter and by industrial discharge.
The full report ‘Around the plastic world in 455 days – a citizen science global transect quantifying microplastics in the oceans’ is available online here. Curtin scientists who analysed seawater samples taken by Jon Sanders on his recent circumnavigation voyage have found microplastics present in the vast majority of samples, including those from very remote areas of the world’s oceans. To decompose the microplastics, the researchers had to generate short-lived chemicals called reactive oxygen species, which trigger chain reactions that chop the various long molecules that make up microplastics into tiny and harmless segments that dissolve in water.
Single-use plastic products are designed to be used once, or for a limited number of times, often away from home, and thrown away after a brief use, usually resulting in waste. The level of microplastics released from PP-IFBs can be significantly reduced by following modified sterilisation and formula preparation procedures. Led by Dr Jing Jing Wang, Professor John Boland and Professor Liwen Xiao at Trinity, the team analysed the potential for release of MPs from PP-IFBs during formula preparation by following international guidelines. The team also estimated the exposure of 12-month-old infants to MPs in 48 countries and regions, with findings published in Nature Food. “We examined the gut of two green turtles using this new method, and even with this small sample set, found seven microplastics consisting of two plastic paint chips and five synthetic fabric particles. That’s in addition to also finding 4.5 m of nylon line and some soft plastic pieces entangled in the gut,” said Dr Motti.