How serious is the influence of environmental chemicals on human body?
Among the discovered chemicals, two are perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, namely PFAS (including 3000 synthetic chemicals classified as PFAS). According to research experiments, these two substances have many adverse effects on the health of experimental animals, among which perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFAS) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) have been widely studied.
According to the data of American Biotechnology Information Center, PFOA has been detected in the blood of more than 98% people in the United States. These substances mainly exist in the environment around military bases and manufacturing buildings, and have penetrated into the water supply system. PFOA in human body is related to the increase of cholesterol and uric acid levels, which will lead to kidney calculi's disease and gout, and have a serious impact on liver, kidney and immune system.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, these substances mainly come from food packaging, household cleaners and non-stick pans, as well as waterproof coatings and water-based foam fire extinguishing agents, because the AFFF mixture containing PFAS is effective and widely used.
These substances cannot be degraded in the environment, and can easily enter water bodies and tap water systems, which may be difficult to eliminate. However, in 20 19, a water treatment company in North Carolina said that they could remove PFAS and other substances from water by using large granular activated carbon to adsorb them from water, which is said to eliminate 90%. However, the consumption of drinking water is huge, and it is still a difficult problem whether this test effect can be popularized.
In addition, ten substances are plasticizers, two are cosmetics and one is pesticide. One of the plasticizers is a group of chemicals of phthalate esters, which often appear in fast food packaging. Research shows that it has a great impact on health.
Partial PFAS standard approval of EU regulations
Researchers at the University of California analyzed blood samples of pregnant women and infants and found 109 chemicals, 55 of which have never been seen before, indicating that they can enter the fetus from the mother through the placental barrier, thus affecting the development of the fetus.
Tracey Woodruff, director of reproductive health and environment program (PRHE) and environmental research and health at the University of California, San Francisco, said that it is very dangerous for mothers to be exposed to these substances during pregnancy, because this is a very fragile moment, and these substances will affect the baby's life, and our potential harm to them is still under further study.
The influence of environmental chemicals has been "terminally ill"
201810123 October, a paper by the Vienna medical university and the Austrian federal environment agency said that in a microplastics test, eight subjects were between 33 and 65 years old, from many countries and engaged in various occupations.
This is a terrible result, because all aspects of our lives are exposed to plastics, such as fibers in our clothes, sealing elements in water cups, plastic bags for food packaging, various plastic containers and so on. These are all inseparable from plastics in our lives. What is even more frightening is that these plastics wear out of food at high temperatures and are ingested by us!
June 9, 2020 10 A paper published in Nature-Food magazine said that plastic particles may be released from baby bottles containing polypropylene when brewed with standard formula milk powder. The paper seriously pointed out that these microplastics may have a serious impact on human body!
Several China scholars and colleagues from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, tested the microplastics release rate of 10 baby bottles during the brewing process according to the disinfection method and standard operating procedure of formula recommended by WHO. The results show that no matter which brand of baby bottle contains plastic, it will release1.3000 to1.6200 microplastics granules during the brewing process, and the release amount is directly proportional to the water temperature.
The paper gives the global distribution map of microplastics's influence on infants. The results show that the influence of Asia and Africa is relatively small, which may be related to the promotion of breastfeeding in these areas. Conditional breastfeeding in China lasts at least three months or even more than one year.
Before 2008, scientists thought that animals could excrete microplastics, but later in the study, it was found that most microplastics could not excrete, but would stay in internal organs, blood circulation and other organs because of the aggregation of food chain, and even enter the brain through the blood-brain barrier.
The harm of plastic itself to human health mainly comes from its structural monomer (such as bisphenol A), additives (such as plasticizer and halogen-containing flame retardant) or their combination (such as antibacterial polycarbonate). Potential effects include hereditary diseases, cancer and other acute and chronic diseases, and minor effects include stimulating sensory organs, causing endocrine disorders and dyspnea.
Although microplastics's influence on the brain is still under study, scientists think it is by no means a good thing!
The earth has been surrounded by plastic.
In June, 2020, 5438+ 10, a study released by Australia's national scientific institution showed that150,000 tons of plastics may have been distributed on the seabed in the form of sediments, but human beings are still producing and using plastics without restraint and throwing them away unscrupulously. They are collected in the ocean through rivers, and finally weathered and broken into particles and sank to the bottom of the sea.
They will drift on the ocean for a long time before sinking to the bottom of the sea. This is the origin of the garbage island in the North Pacific. There is a huge garbage drift belt between California and Hawaii in the eastern Pacific of the United States. The circulation here is relatively static, and the garbage can't be recycled after being brought in by ocean currents, so it accumulates here year after year.
According to the statistics of the research team supported by the non-profit organization "Ocean Cleanliness Foundation", as of April 20 18, the area of this garbage island has reached 6.5438+0.6 million square kilometers, which is equivalent to the area of three French continents.
According to the data of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 20 17, the United States produced 35.4 million tons of plastic products in the whole year, and the global production of plastic products in 20 17 was about 654.38+billion tons, accounting for 30% of the global production! Since the invention of plastics, the global output of plastic products may have exceeded 8.3 billion tons! Of these plastic products, only 16% was recycled, the rest were all discarded, some were messy in the wind, some were buried, some reached the sea through rivers, and finally settled on the garbage island!
The future of mankind may have to find a way out in garbage!