Heating just one food item in a plastic container creates more nanoplastic than a whole lifetime of drinking mineral water from plastic bottles

[Artemisia]

I used a glass pour-over when I drank coffee. Heat + plastic is not good. But then I worried about PFAS or whatever else like dioxin in the coffee filter.

 

[BrightCandle]

i wonder what this means for coffee makers, they are often made from plastic.

The Aeropress is done for, as are most of the pour over funnels based on this research. A lot of coffee machines use plastic for the filter and funnelling and on the carafe.

 

[Wishful]

I am not sure why the nanoplastic levels are so much higher than the microplastic levels in these plastic cups.

I'm picturing a plastic surface as being made up of many polymer chains linked and tangled, but also with many smaller chains not firmly attached. There would be some clumps of bound chains, which would be easily freed to become microparticles, while the individual chains would become nanoparticles. Heating a surface would flex some of those chains, releasing new particles. Environmental factors would constantly break off or expose new loosely-bound particles. Whether that picture matches reality is a different question.

It could be that researchers are using different measurement methods for these particles, which then results in wildly different particle number figures.

That's my guess too. With any new area of investigation, there's the problem of lack of standardization, both in methods and terminology. Two studies reporting nanoparticle counts might be comparing apples and jet turbines (ie. not even remotely close). That's why I'm thinking that the amounts found in that study will not be shockingly different from many other everyday exposures, once some standardization of measurements arrives.

What seems clear is that hot food or hot beverages in contact with plastic results in very high levels of plastic particle release, compared to other sources.

Not necessarily clear, since "those other sources" may not have been measured in a comparable way. Maybe wiping your mouth with a synthetic fibre cloth or drinking cold water from a new plastic cup releases a comparable number of particles as the microwaved items in the study. We'll have to wait for a proper study of everyday exposures.

 

[bad1080]

drinking cold water from a new plastic cup releases a comparable number of particles as the microwaved items in the study

why should that differ wildly from the water bottle figure?

 

[Wishful]

why should that differ wildly from the water bottle figure?

Pulling a plastic cup from a stack (typical way they're sold) might abrade fresh particles, while the blowing process might lock them in. I'm just saying that without proper measurements using the same technique and agreement on the definitions of micro and nano particles, we don't know what sort of exposures we're getting from different sources. There was a big gold mine scam due to the assay being done in a non-standard (but great for exciting headlines!) way.

 

[datadragon]

Hi @Hip Yes. Shaking and microwave heating increased small-sized microplastic shedding from baby bottles also was found. Unfortunately as I posted before that microplastics have been known to be inflammatory including the NLRP3 inflammasome was identified as critical in initiating this inflammatory chain reaction due to the mitochondrial ROS surge caused by MPs exposure.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202300569X

Such minuscule particles can invade individual cells and tissues in major organs, experts say, interrupting cellular processes and potentially depositing endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and heavy metals.

Endocrine disruptors interfere with the human reproductive system, leading to genital and reproductive malformations as well as female infertility and a decline in sperm count, according to the Endocrine Society.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/21/health/microplastics-testicles-study-wellness/index.html
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/19/heal...nises-study-scli-intl-scn-wellness/index.html

 

[Hip]

microplastics have been known to be inflammatory including the NLRP3 inflammasome was identified as critical in initiating this inflammatory chain reaction due to the mitochondrial ROS surge caused by MPs exposure

Regarding the question of whether microplastic and nanoplastic particles lodged in human brain tissues might be associated with neurological diseases such as ME/CFS, I imagine this is going to be hard to demonstrate, because of the difficulties in measuring the level of plastic in living brains. It can only be done through postmortem studies, much in the same way that detecting viruses in the brain can only be done postmortem.

Plastic contamination of the brain could be playing a role in neurological diseases, but we may not have the data to prove or disprove this.

 

[junkcrap50]

Would you have any references for that?

No. Just my observation of food items from the grocery store and Costco. If you can heat it up in the packaging it came in, I would guess it was cooked in that same packaging. Can't know for sure and probably not every thing, but if it would be easier and cheaper to do, they'll do it.

 

[Wishful]

If you can heat it up in the packaging it came in, I would guess it was cooked in that same packaging.

I think it's far more likely that most foods are cooked either in big vats or on conveyor belts, to maximize productivity. Maybe there are some foods where presentation is critical and the foods can't be placed properly after cooking, but I'm guessing that is rare.

 

[Artemisia]

i'm sure they don't cool cooked food properly before packaging.
when i make a big batch of food i put it in glass storage containers and it's annoying to wait for it to cool before placing the plastic lid, but i do wait.
they prolly wait to cool only enough till it wont melt plastic. profit over health always.

 

[Strawberry]

I’ve recently started switching to silicone, but I won’t be surprised if in the future that it just as bad as plastic. Anyone know? It’s so difficult to avoid plastic.

 

[Artemisia]

I’ve recently started switching to silicone, but I won’t be surprised if in the future that it just as bad as plastic. Anyone know? It’s so difficult to avoid plastic.

i read an indepth analysis of cooking w/ silicone. can't remember where but it seemed trustworthy and the takeaway was it's probably ok but do not leave silicone utensils in the cooking pan. that is, don't leave it exposed to cooking heat. brief exposure to heat is better. i try to use wood when possible.

 

[BrightCandle]

I’ve recently started switching to silicone, but I won’t be surprised if in the future that it just as bad as plastic. Anyone know? It’s so difficult to avoid plastic.

For microwaves and storage in freezers for prepared meals and such I imagine the best option today is probably the glass containers with plastic lids.

 

[pamojja]

Interestingly enough, according to research on marine sediments, microplastic and nanoplastic particles started polluting our environment from the 1980s onwards, with a dramatic increase in microplastic abundance from about 1998.

It may be a coincidence,

Another coincidence, the first time I visited India in 1983, the second time in 1986. The huge difference in only 3 years for me was the introduction of plastic bags, and small private cars. India with its fifth of the world-population and, with until today no countrywide recycling system, sure had a large impact. Batteries are still dropped whenever they fail everywhere. So actually more serious problems there, than plastics only.

With corona, they finally abandoned curd in earthen pots too.

 

[Hip]

A new study on microplastics published in Nature yesterday.

The study found that microplastic and nanoplastic levels in the brain were 7–30 times greater than the concentrations seen in livers or kidneys.

One article about this study says:

University of New Mexico Health Sciences researchers have found microplastics in human brains, and at much higher concentrations than in other organs. Worse, the plastic accumulation appears to be growing over time, having increased by 50% over just the past eight years.

Microplastics tend to accumulate in fat cells in the brain’s insulating myelin sheath, which wraps around neurons and helps to regulate signal transmission. That, in turn, might help explain the higher concentrations of plastic in the brain.

brain tissue from people who had been diagnosed with dementia had up to 10 times as much plastic in their brains as everyone else

Though this does not prove that microplastics are causing dementia, as it could be that the brain's garbage-clearing lymphatic system is working under par in dementia, leading to a greater accumulation of microplastic in the brain.



The article suggests that because plastic is fairly inert chemically, its physical effects on the brain may be more problematic rather than any chemical effects:

It is also unclear what effects plastic, which is considered to be biologically inert and used in medical applications like heart stents and artificial joints, might be having, he said. The physical characteristics of these particles may be the real problem, as opposed to some sort of chemical toxicity.

“We start thinking that maybe these plastics obstruct blood flow in capillaries,” Campen said. “There’s the potential that these nanomaterials interfere with the connections between axons in the brain. They could also be a seed for aggregation of proteins involved in dementia. We just don’t know.”

 

[Viala]

Plastic is not very safe in general. I usually cook bigger food batches and whenever I keep it in a plastic container, it goes bad much quicker than when I keep it in a stainless pot. It reacts with food even kept in the fridge.

 

[Wishful]

The article suggests that because plastic is fairly inert chemically, its physical effects on the brain may be more problematic rather than any chemical effects:

I read that our myelin sheaths are frequently stripped off and replaced, as the neural pathway changes function. I can see foreign particles getting in the way of that. Messy workplaces lead to accidents.

 

[bad1080]

i wonder what this means for teflon?

Above those temperatures the degradation by-products can be lethal to birds,[73] and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans (polymer fume fever),[74] although in humans those symptoms disappear within a day or two of being moved to fresh air.[75]

from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene#Safety

good thing this is from 1955, i bet they already had all the bells and whistles for finding microplastics...

 

[Wishful]

i wonder what this means for teflon?

It means don't heat it to that high of a temperature. That shouldn't be a problem with microwaves, since teflon doesn't absorb them significantly.

Further studies might reveal different levels of hazards for different plastics. Maybe delrin nanoparticles have just the right properties to affect some cellular function, while polybutadine has no observable harmful effects.

 

[bad1080]

It means don't heat it to that high of a temperature

but by their own admission there is only an ~18°C buffer (and how many people have left the pan on for too long by accident at least once):

unlikely that these products would be generated in amounts significant to health at temperatures below 250 °C (482 °F)
[...]
meat is usually fried between 204 and 232 °C (399 and 450 °F)