Tires on the plate: so the lettuce we eat can accumulate substances present in car tires
Austrian researchers have shown that even lettuce leaves are able to absorb the dangerous particles (and the toxic substances they contain)
That of microplastics dispersed in the environment – in the air, in the water, in the animal and vegetable organisms that end up transforming themselves into our source of nourishment – is a problem as well-known as it is feared.
The tiny plastic particles resulting from the degradation in nature of bottles, bags, cotton swabs, toys and much more have been found in every corner of the planet – from the depths of the ocean to the polar glaciers. But that’s not all: numerous studies have now shown that microplastics are also found in our bodies, in the blood and in the human placenta.
But there is also another source of microplastics that is polluting the environment and posing a threat to the health of ecosystems but also to agriculture that brings fruit and vegetables to our tables, as demonstrated by this recent study by researchers of theUniversity of Vienna: it’s the tires that wear out on the roads.
Car, motorcycle and truck tires represent the second source of primary microplastics in the oceans after synthetic textile fibers (28% of the total). It is estimated that, during his lifetime, a tire can disperse up to 4 kilograms of microplastics into the environment.
Austrian researchers have analyzed in the laboratory the absorption capacity of microplastics by lettuce, a vegetable widely present in our homes, and the possible repercussions of this absorption on human health.
In fact, microplastics from tires contain substances that are very harmful to our body and their ingestion through fruit and vegetables represents a risk that should not be underestimated. In particular, one of the most dangerous substances is the 6PPD-quinonewhich is produced when the tires are in use.
For their analysis, the researchers exposed some lettuce plants to the presence of plastic particles. It has emerged that plants are able to absorb all chemical compounds if they are found in the soil, thanks to the work of the roots.
But even if microplastics are found on lettuce leaves, they are still absorbed by the plant, with serious consequences for the health of those who will eat this vegetable – whether they are animals or humans.
Plants not only absorb the chemical substances contained in microplastics, but metabolize them, giving life to new compounds never described in scientific literature until now. The toxicity of these metabolites has not yet been quantified, just as the risk they may pose to our health has not yet been quantified.
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Source: Environmental sciences and technologies
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