Post by toni on Oct 29, 2011 8:45:37 GMT -5
Nearly 2000 polyester fibers can float away, unseen, from a single fleece sweater
in one wash cycle, a new study reports. That synthetic lint likely makes its way
through sewage treatment systems and into oceans around the world. The consequences
of this widespread pollution are still hazy, but environmental scientists say the microscopic
plastic fibers have the potential to harm marine life.
So Browne and his team recruited far-flung colleagues on six continents to scoop sand
from 18 beaches.
(The scientists had to wear all natural-fiber clothing, lest their own garments shed lint into
the samples.)
Back in the lab, the researchers painstakingly separated the plastic from the sand—
a process that involved, among other things, hand plucking microscopic fibers from filter papers.
A chemical analysis showed that nearly 80% of those filaments were made of polyester or acrylic, compounds common in textiles.
Not a single beach was free of the colorful synthetic lint.
Each cup (250 milliliters) of sand contained at least two fibers and as many as 31.
The most contaminated samples came from areas with the highest human
population density, suggesting that cities were an important source of the lint.
Browne says. Other studies have found that microplastics in the ocean absorb
pollutants such as DDT.
And Browne's own work has shown that filter-feeding mussels will consume tiny plastic
particles, which then enter the animals' bloodstreams and even their cells. If the same thing
happens in nature, the plastic fibers could "end up on our dinner plates," incorporated into seafood,
Browne warns.
news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/10/laundry-lint-pollutes-the-worlds.html?ref=hp
in one wash cycle, a new study reports. That synthetic lint likely makes its way
through sewage treatment systems and into oceans around the world. The consequences
of this widespread pollution are still hazy, but environmental scientists say the microscopic
plastic fibers have the potential to harm marine life.
So Browne and his team recruited far-flung colleagues on six continents to scoop sand
from 18 beaches.
(The scientists had to wear all natural-fiber clothing, lest their own garments shed lint into
the samples.)
Back in the lab, the researchers painstakingly separated the plastic from the sand—
a process that involved, among other things, hand plucking microscopic fibers from filter papers.
A chemical analysis showed that nearly 80% of those filaments were made of polyester or acrylic, compounds common in textiles.
Not a single beach was free of the colorful synthetic lint.
Each cup (250 milliliters) of sand contained at least two fibers and as many as 31.
The most contaminated samples came from areas with the highest human
population density, suggesting that cities were an important source of the lint.
Browne says. Other studies have found that microplastics in the ocean absorb
pollutants such as DDT.
And Browne's own work has shown that filter-feeding mussels will consume tiny plastic
particles, which then enter the animals' bloodstreams and even their cells. If the same thing
happens in nature, the plastic fibers could "end up on our dinner plates," incorporated into seafood,
Browne warns.
news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/10/laundry-lint-pollutes-the-worlds.html?ref=hp