Is Sea Salt Full Of Plastic?

Video: Is Sea Salt Full Of Plastic?

Video: Is Sea Salt Full Of Plastic?
Video: Plastic pollution: Sea salt found to contain microplastics - TomoNews 2024, December
Is Sea Salt Full Of Plastic?
Is Sea Salt Full Of Plastic?
Anonim

Scientists from the East China University in Shanghai studied Chinese sea salt and found a very strange ingredient in it. It turns out that in every kilogram of salt there are hundreds of microscopic plastic particles. They enter the human body and make it sick.

In their study, the scientists examined under a microscope the composition of 15 brands of sea salt, as well as that of several other types of salt purchased from Chinese stores.

In all types of sea salt, they found an average of between 550 and 681 microplastic particles per kilogram. In other species, its amount was up to 204 particles per kilogram. Scientists explain this by the fact that even rock salt is processed with the same machines as sea salt.

Microplastics in nature are formed from two main sources. All plastic objects that are indiscriminately discarded decompose and end up in nature. The second source is all the cosmetics we use every day.

Degradation produces a huge amount of microplastics with dimensions of 5 mm, which are invisible to the human eye. They fall into nature and respectively into the water, marine animals swallow them and thanks to the food chain they easily get into the human body.

Sol
Sol

Most microplastics get into humans thanks to seafood - up to 11,000 particles per year. However, it turns out that through sea salt we ingest about 1,000 small plastic grains a year.

They damage tissues and bring harmful chemicals into our body, which accumulate and lead to the development of a number of diseases, some of which are deadly.

To date, the largest amounts of microplastics have been found in table salt produced in China.

However, the problem is global, as the country is virtually the world's largest salt producer and affects people hundreds of kilometers away.

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