MICROBEADS IN COSMETIC PRODUCTS THE SIZE FROM 10 MICROMETERS TO 5 MILLIMETERS MAY FIND ITS WAY INTO THE FOOD CHAIN VIA FISH

......Microbeads are tiny plastic pieces normally found in toothpastes, facial cleaners, scrubs and other cosmetics, often marketed for exfoliation.

These beads are from 10 micrometers to 5 millimeters in diameter, compared to a human hair that is normally a size of 100 micrometers in diameter.

Too small to be filtered, they pass through water purification systems and flow into oceans where marine life can eat them, mistaking them for food.

The composition of microbeads often includes polyethylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethlyl methacrylate (PMMA) or nylon, which are not degradable and take at least several decades to dissolve.

Approximately 360,000 microbeads particles are contained in an average 170ml facial cleaner sold in the market, while at least 20 million tons of these plastic pieces end up in the ocean each year, according to United Nations Environment Program data in 2014.

The dangers are not just exclusive to human life who can find these in their food sources.

A 2015 study listed on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America found that nine out of 10 seabirds around the world are likely to have tiny plastic pieces in their stomachs.

Data from the Korea Women’s Environmental Network also showed that every 2.5 in 10 fish -- such as planktons -- here were found to contain plastic wastes inside their stomachs.

“These plastic pieces find their way through sewers and into the sea where they are easily eaten by all sorts of marine animals,” said Park Tae-hyun, a campaigner at Greenpeace Korea......

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