Time to junk plastic: Microwaving food containers can expose you to toxic nanoplastics, says study

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

plastic food containers can release billions of small toxic plastic particles, according to a study. The researchers found that microwaving plastic baby food containers released over two billion nanoplastics and four million microplastics for every square centimeter of container in some cases. The study, published recently in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, also found that three-quarters of cultured embryonic kidney cells had died after two days of being introduced to those same particles.

«It is really important to know how many micro- and nanoplastics we are taking in,» said Kazi Albab Hussain, the study's lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, US. «Many studies, including ours, are demonstrating that the toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics is highly linked to the level of exposure,» Hussain added. The team conducted experiments with two baby food containers made from polypropylene and a reusable pouch made of polyethylene, both plastics approved by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration. In one experiment, the researchers filled the containers with either deionised water or 3 per cent acetic acid — the latter intended to simulate dairy products, fruits, vegetables and other relatively acidic consumables — then heated them at full power for three minutes in a 1,000-watt microwave. Afterward, they analysed the liquids for evidence of micro- and nanoplastics: the micro being particles at least 1/1,000th of a millimetre in diameter, the nano any particles smaller.