微塑料危机比我们首先想到的要差得多。
半个世纪以来，人类将塑料纳入了我们生活的各个方面，从孩子的玩具到食品包装。然而，91％的塑料没有被回收，最终在垃圾填埋场和海洋中，在那里分解成称为微塑料的微小颗粒。在过去的五年中，科学家在dust, fruit, drinking water,雨和atmosphere。They’ve also been found in humanlung tissue和bloodstreams, as well as ininfants’ bodies。
科学家才刚刚开始准确地了解我们环境中的广泛微塑料以及their impact on human health。但是专家说，现在值得采取一些预防措施，特别是因为这个问题只会变得更糟。现在，市场上有更多产品可以减少我们对微塑料的接触。
Dick Vethaak, a professor emeritus of ecotoxicology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, has been studying microplastics for a long time. In 2016, hesounded the alarmabout their potential dangers on the human body and helped kick-start research on the subject.
“What we know for sure about microplastics is that they are everywhere in our biosphere,” he says. “We eat, breathe, and drink them constantly.”
Vethaak说，我们仍然不完全了解身体如何处理小于1千米小的5毫米和纳米塑料小的微塑料。这些颗粒可能足够小，可以进入细胞，从而破坏细胞活性。在对大鼠的研究中，发现微塑料会导致小肠，低精子计数和较小的婴儿的炎症。
荷兰瓦格宁根大学的环境科学家阿尔伯特·科尔曼斯（Albert Koelmans）不认为我们目前对微塑料的接触正在造成损害。问题是塑料消耗正在上升。他告诉《科学杂志》，“如果我们什么都不做，我对未来有些担心。”Nature。
考虑到无处不在的微塑料，Vethaak承认，完全摆脱它们将非常困难。
“They are ambient particles, like others in our environment, like exhaust from cars or specks from a barbecue,” he says, noting that it’s worth taking steps to reduce our exposure to these potentially toxic particles, the way we do with other toxins in our environment. “Making lifestyle changes and changing out some products are quick wins that can reduce our overall exposure by a bit.”
Vethaak说，最终的解决方案是使各国在系统水平上工作，以减少全球塑料消耗和重新设计产品以减少塑料。他说：“除非我们干预，否则情况只会变得更糟。”
Here are some tools already on the market worth considering.
水过滤器
Microplastics have been found indrinking water。一些U.S. states正在采取措施，以确保市政过滤厂像其他污染物一样将其过滤掉。但是也有家用水过滤器旨在过滤微塑料，包括recent collection from LifeStraw。还有一个叫做水龙头的过滤器Tappthat promises to filter microplastics from your tap water.
Air Purifiers
During the pandemic, many people bought air purifiers that they hoped would filter out virus particles (the virus that causes COVID-19 is 0.125 micron—significantly smaller than a microplastic particle). Blueair, for instance, aims torid the air of these particles。一个名为德国品牌Ideal还制造出针对微塑料的空气净化器。
Vethaak says air purifiers can be helpful, but consumers need to consider how they’ll get rid of the debris collected by the filter. If you simply take it out and put it in the garbage can, you’re exposing yourself to the particles all over again. Ideally, you would quickly pop the filter into a waste bag that can be tied closed to avoid exposure.
不锈钢饮料软件和餐具
Vethaak says drinking from plastic water bottles and eating from plastic plates can be problematic because they shed microplastics as they degrade. (Separately, microwaving plastic has been found to be unsafe becauseit leaches chemicals进入食物。）这对孩子的餐具特别有问题，这通常是由塑料制成的，因此不会破裂。美国儿科学会鼓励父母使用不锈钢或玻璃如果可能的话。
为了限制孩子接触塑料，您可以在常规陶瓷菜肴上为他们提供食物。但是，如果您担心破损，那么不锈钢是一个不错的选择。（这不是微波炉，但洗碗机安全。）如果您想进行交换，则有很多品牌可以制造stainless steelproducts for kids.行星箱和Bentgo制作lunch boxes适用于所有年龄段的阿希姆萨, a brand founded by a pediatrician, has a line of stainless steel dinnerware that’s safe even for babies.
For adults, Vethaak suggests switching away from reusable plastic water bottles and choosing stainless steel products like those from胀或使用玻璃水瓶，例如Soma。If you carry your lunch to work, it makes sense to use stainless steel as well.
Washing Machine Filters
All the products we’ve shared so far are designed to protect us from microplastics. But can we do anything to protect the planet?
我们知道，洗衣机中的合成服装（活性服装，泳衣和聚酯服装）呈现微塑料。诸如此类的产品孔雀鱼和theCora Ballare designed to trap microplastic fibers so they don’t end up in the water. Vethaak says these are well-intentioned and can help raise awareness about microplastics in waterways.
And, of course, reducing our personal impact on the environment is certainly worth doing. But if we use these products, we should be conscious that it’s a tiny drop in the bucket considering the vast amount of microplastics that end up in the ocean.
Vethaak believes that eventually all washing machines will feature built-in filters that remove microplastics.Electroluxhas already released a machine that traps nanoplastics. “Again, the key will be figuring out how to remove the debris from the machine, so we don’t ingest these microplastics,” Vethaak says.
未来的解决方案
随着我们更多地了解微塑料，公司正在开发创造性的新解决方案，这些解决方案将帮助我们摆脱环境。有些人还没有准备好上市，但可能很快。最有趣的人使用自然本身来保护我们免受污染物的侵害。
A moss filter, for instance, is designed to naturally capture and filter out microplastics from water before you drink it. And青口贝are known for filtering enormous amounts of ocean water every day, leaving behind microplastics. Scientists are developing strategies to use mussels as a tool to eradicate microplastics from natural environments.