Scientists may have overestimated the potential health risk of microplastics, according to a new study from the University of Michigan, which identified a major culprit that could have unintentionally skewed results over multiple previous studies.
Researchers found that the nitrile and latex gloves that scientists wear while measuring microplastics may be leading to false positives of the tiny pollutants. That’s because the gloves are coated with nonplastic particles called stearates—soaplike particles that can rub off or shed onto lab equipment, “creating thousands of false positives per square millimeter (or about one-thousandth of a square inch).”
However, the study’s senior author warns, that’s not to say microplastics aren’t a big problem. “We may be overestimating microplastics, but there should be none,” Anne McNeil, a professor of chemistry, and macromolecular science and engineering at the University of Michigan, said in a statement. “There’s still a lot out there.”
What are microplastics?
Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic (less than 5 millimeters long) that are released into the environment. They are the most common source of debris in our oceans and lakes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Ocean Service.
In their tiniest form, microplastics are added as microbeads in beauty products, including cleansers and exfoliants such as soaps and washes; creams; hair gel; and even toothpaste. They are small enough to bypass filtration and can end up in our drinking water from the tap.
Microplastics are still a big problem
The news comes as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday flagged microplastics and pharmaceuticals as contaminants in drinking water in its latest draft of its Contaminant Candidate List, which identifies toxins not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
That’s also as Americans are growing increasingly concerned about the health risks of ingesting plastics, amid a push by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda to remove harmful pollutants from our food, environment, and water.