Comment on PLASTICMAXXING
wewbull@feddit.uk 3 days agoI’m confused.
Is the issue here you’re using the term “micro-plastic” in a different way to me. My understanding of it is “small particles of solid plastic often reduced in size through mechanical processes to microscopic sizes which we find throughout the environment, often distributed by water”. You seem to be talking more generally about chemical water pollution.
JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org 3 days ago
That is my bad, not explaining this clearly.
Our formations of plastics usually utilizes petroleum products being formed into long polymeric chains. That’s what provides the pliable, even stretchy nature of many plastics. However, we don’t make all plastics out of petroleum - we also use resin mixtures and various other chemical processes for specialized plastics - PLA, for instance, is synthesized from plant starch, for instance. So, when we’re talking about ‘plastics’, we’re usually talking about petroleum products, but it includes other long-polymer-chain materials we artificially synthesize.
Having covered that, Teflon is often called a forever chemical, but it’s a chemical which we synthesize into long prouder chains so we can attach it to the surface of things. It’s how pans are non-stick, gore-tex is waterproof, and how many food containers are grease-proof. I am of the view that perflourochemicals classify as plastics because of that. And the reason it’s so pervasive everywhere is the same reason all other microplastics are everywhere: it chips off. You use a metal spatula on a nonstick pan - bam, stray Perflourochemicals, as tiny little solid microplastic flecks. And everything points to them not being inert to human health.