@Yen: Both you and I know that the human body is amazing with regards to how it heals itself and how it deals with pathogens. But plastics? I'm not sure how the body would mitigate such a threat. In my mind, out-gassing from plastics can become a long term health risk. We've seen this happen with plastic mold release compounds, notably BPA. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A) If a natural organic substance like sesame seeds can cause diverticulitis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverticulitis) What damage can fine particles of plastic do? In a perfect world, we'd be taking steps to reclaim the plastic from the water and recycling it. I couldn't agree more about Endocrine blockers. The damage that they do is terrible and spans generations. P.S.: Chemistry buffs might like this page. https://chemapps.stolaf.edu/jmol/jmol.php https://chemapps.stolaf.edu/jmol/jmol.php?model=CCCCCc1cc(O)c2C3C=C(C)CCC3C(C)(C)Oc2c1
I think we cannot get rid of them fibers anymore. I haven't much focus on the water at first place but on the air. Particles generally. They are 'everywhere' and I guess they cause diseases already...but to get evidence based causality is hard. Have a look at sun rays when they shine through a window....the air and all the fluff and particles flying around....and at the furnishings surfaces...dust. And when you clean you actually stir some of them up again. It's actually no wonder that there are fibers in water even though it has been filtered before. I guess when you have a close look at a glass of tap water with sun rays shining through it you can see a fiber sooner or later....ok you might not be able to say whether it is of plastics or not but I bet you can see fibers... What I want to say: We are doing a human trial already now with fibers and other particles such as carbon black and time will tell what they can do....
@Yen: True on all accounts! Depending on where you take it from, water is a colloidal suspension of various concentrations. Our bodies know how to deal with most of it. It's the lungs that suffer the most. Here's a link about the potential health risks of laser printer toner. http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2011/06/22/3249217.htm
I know. The human 'trial' is going on right now...actually all the time since we do have man made chemicals and compounds. I differentiated when in comes to fibres themselves a focus on the air (particles) and when it comes to estrogenic substances like phthalates (softener), alkyl phenols and bis-phenol a the focus on a solution of them (water). The estrogenic compounds firstly came from pesticides and later they discovered some of those coming from plastics. We firstly had amalgam which consists of Mercury to fix our holes of our teeth, then we've replaced it by uv-curable plastics. Another 'human time-bomb' might be antibiotics. Scientists expect an invasion of the so called resistant superbugs in future. Human achievements might turn into their bad appearances in this regard and since all of the sources are widely spread nobody knows how bad it will get and when. Anyway we should act according to our results of research and try to replace those compounds (as we did already). The question is if this is a bottomless pit or if we are too inactive or if we can avoid a probable catastrophe at all...
Some of that research has already been done - but at the moment there isn't much money in it... Life is serving Capital. Just how perverted is this?!? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phage_therapy Bisphenol A has been replaced with a "safer" version, Bisphenol B - which turned out to be much worse (and this is not the first time the industry comes up with a "final solution", whereby the "cure" is worse than the disease)... And we still "think" proper, stronger legislation is not needed?!?
In the USA, the government almost always operates on the side of industry. We need to create laws controlling how much money can be spent on Lobbying. We need to put the "Teeth" back into the FDA. @gorski: Phage therapy is fascinating. It looks like a winner with regards to antibiotic resistant pathogens. @Yen: These discussions should live in their own thread. They broach subjects are critically important to the survival of humans. What does everybody think?
The way they do it, from what I saw, they go to a sewer, especially hospital sewers and get samples. Wherever there are bacteria, they found bacteria-killing phage viruses. Very quickly they can cultivate them and attack the buggers, with really high percentage of efficacy, because they are specific. When bacteria mutate, so do the viruses. The other problem with them is - you're messing with viruses but hey... One step at the time...
The irony in that (to replace something bad with something worse) is reflected with the amalgam example. I did not post that as a success but irony and your BBC link points on uv-curable plastics and their estrogenic contaminants. The stronger legislation 'appears' but in a IMHO degenerated version.... There are QM and QS quality management and quality safety. But anything is just made to print papers to get certificates which attest that something is now relatively safe. Or something is artificially attributed as harmful and out of context to harm a market competitor. The real 'issue' is not touched and the real problem belittled and concealed... Proper legislation is the keyword with focus on human future, not the future of capitalistic interests of own business!
So, Yen, you know of proper long term studies on many relatively new products from chemical industry?!? If that is so, how come we keep coming up with these horror stories?!? Are they really required by law? It doesn't matter if it is plastics, packaging, detergents, coolants, lubricants, pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified organisms...... It is a Capitalist Corporation that is making profits through it and hence they do not exactly voluntarily go into these long term testing procedures. They could have done it, even before it was mandatory, for instance in pharmaceutical industry (and still they flout the law, go to Africa and India to test their products on uneducated people etc.). But they did not. This is why we see even worse than CFCs 'replacement', i.e. HFCs could have been avoided, just like Thalidomide, BPA > BPB etc. etc. Yes, we must legislate properly and think strategically, not just tactically (i.e. how to get to bigger profits every quarter). Politics against markets, in other words. In corporations scientists are "just" hired guns, sure - but they can turn whistle-blowers, they don't HAVE to work for corporations and allow the long-term untested product to be allowed into the public sphere. They can also work in a public sector, no one is putting a gun to their heads, in a frenzied race for money and influence, non? Moreover, there are huge possibilities for huge damage to Life as such, as we gain more and more insight into the nature of the Universe and our planet in particular, so is there not a SERIOUS reason to SERIOUSLY overview what the scientists are doing, from all possible angles, not only technical but also ethical, long-term studies, strategic critical appraisal of potential of ANY new technology etc. included? https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Scientific blunders&t=opera&ia=web In other words, one does not HAVE to behave like a sociopath but the system is creating conditions in which this sort of behaviour is prevalent and awarded! ('Not even gonna mention AI...) Just look at this: http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/blund.html
@gorski: It depends on the country in which the research is done. Some adopt more strict laws, others do not. In the video titled "Assault on the male", not only did I watch the video from start to finish, I also looked at the comments. So much bigotry and anti-semitism there. It's disgusting. You reap what you sow. And most of us in the USA eat foods of questionable origin on a daily basis. Then we wonder why we're fat,sick, and nearly dead. Look in any fast food place in America and you'll understand what I'm saying. We're doing this to ourselves and blaming others for our own lack of understanding and ignorance.
This is pure Star Trek, Sci-Fi becomes life, if ever I saw one (including tablets, smartphones and so on)!!! If only we could get all that money earmarked for destruction and superiority/power over others - put into things like this!!! Poverty, both of the body and spirit, would soon be things of the past, if only we would learn how to share properly and not try to exploit each other or Mother Nature! Not to mention not to exploit our own bodies but to live for the sake of living, not of amassing wealth, power, influence... How far are we from Star Trek kind of world, do you think?!? Thanx for the post, m8!!!
@Mr.X: Sad to say, I have to agree with you. People simply don't care about each other. Everything is about the almighty dollar (peso, whatever)
With an attitude like that - never! https://www.theguardian.com/environ...plastic-studies?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Hangouts
The mysterious Voynich manuscript has finally been decoded Since its discovery in 1969, the 15th century Voynich Manuscript has been a mystery and a cult phenomenon. Full of handwriting in an unknown language or code, the book is heavily illustrated with weird pictures of alien plants, naked women, strange objects, and zodiac symbols. Now, history researcher and television writer Nicholas Gibbs appears to have cracked the code, discovering that the book is actually a guide to women's health that's mostly plagiarized from other guides of the era... more
This one is both worrying to the bone AND gives a bit of hope... https://www.theguardian.com/environ...g-bacteria-help-combat-this-pollution-scourge Read carefully...
"The mysterious Voynich manuscript has finally been decoded" Vojnić: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...4f9be8c6f42c156!8m2!3d45.3250638!4d15.6962323