Plastic in Salt
Researchers analyzed 15 brands of table salt bought at supermarkets around China, and the results were shocking. Among the grains of seasoning micro-sized particles of the common water bottle plastic polyethylene terephthalate, they also found polyethylene, cellophane, and various other types of plastic. The salt with the highest level of plastic contamination was salt sourced from the ocean; the researchers measured more than 250 particles of plastic per pound of sea salt. In addition, a team led by Huahong Shi of East China Normal University found tiny particles of plastic in salt sourced from briny lakes, briny wells, and salt mines. However, they were at lower levels; between 3 and 165 particles per pound of sea salt. It is likely that microplastic contamination is also common outside of China, as manufacturers typically extract sea salt from ocean water by evaporation, leaving everything behind except the water. At such high levels of contamination, if a person was consuming Chinese sea salt at the maximal salt dose recommended by the World Health Organization, they would consume about 1,000 plastic microparticles a year, according to Shi's team.
It's scary how salt is slowly consuming our lives; it's not just in our food anymore. It seems like the consequences of humans carelessly dumping waste into the ocean is finally coming back to haunt us. We have to be careful what we dump into the ocean more than ever. Plastic is not the only toxic thing that is contaminating our water; there are heavy metals and other chemicals to worry about. The best way to reduce the amount of waste being dumped into the ocean is by minimizing the entry of plastic into the food chain, since plastic contamination comes from plastic pollution. As the article said, "plastic contamination originates from the vast amount of plastic pollution floating around marine environments where sea salt is sourced. For instance, bits of plastics might abrade from larger objects, such as water bottles, dumped in the water". So many people throw away their bottles, which can end up in our waterways, instead of recycling them where they can be remade into new bottles or other plastics. We can do this by providing recycling cans everywhere, especially at schools and restaurants. Another obvious solution would be to educate people so they know not to throw away their plastics but to recycle them, reducing waste from getting into our waterways and making our planet cleaner. In addition, getting rid of microbeads inside of face washes would help too because those microbeads get into water, eventually ending up in our ocean and getting into our salt. Eliminating the problem at the source when we still have time is quicker and much more effective than waiting around and trying to fix the problem after it gets out of control. It's time to make a change.
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/plastic-contaminates-table-salt-in-china/
Article in source written by Sarah Everts on October 29, 2015
It's scary how salt is slowly consuming our lives; it's not just in our food anymore. It seems like the consequences of humans carelessly dumping waste into the ocean is finally coming back to haunt us. We have to be careful what we dump into the ocean more than ever. Plastic is not the only toxic thing that is contaminating our water; there are heavy metals and other chemicals to worry about. The best way to reduce the amount of waste being dumped into the ocean is by minimizing the entry of plastic into the food chain, since plastic contamination comes from plastic pollution. As the article said, "plastic contamination originates from the vast amount of plastic pollution floating around marine environments where sea salt is sourced. For instance, bits of plastics might abrade from larger objects, such as water bottles, dumped in the water". So many people throw away their bottles, which can end up in our waterways, instead of recycling them where they can be remade into new bottles or other plastics. We can do this by providing recycling cans everywhere, especially at schools and restaurants. Another obvious solution would be to educate people so they know not to throw away their plastics but to recycle them, reducing waste from getting into our waterways and making our planet cleaner. In addition, getting rid of microbeads inside of face washes would help too because those microbeads get into water, eventually ending up in our ocean and getting into our salt. Eliminating the problem at the source when we still have time is quicker and much more effective than waiting around and trying to fix the problem after it gets out of control. It's time to make a change.
Source: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/plastic-contaminates-table-salt-in-china/
Article in source written by Sarah Everts on October 29, 2015