Approximately 8 trillion microbeads are polluting the United States waterways daily, according to a recent study in Environmental Science & Technology.
Microbeads are miniature balls of plastic smaller than 1 mm and are primarily made out of polyethylene. Hundreds of personal care products contain these microbeads such as toothpastes and face scrubs. One may not think of microbeads as a problem for the environment due to their minuscule size, but they are indeed an enormous pollutant to the environment.
Sewage treatment facilities were not intended to sort out microbeads so they end up in our oceans. Microbeads are not biodegradable so they will remain in our waterways once they go down the drain. Once in our oceans, the microbeads can absorb persistent organic pollutants. “Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals that adversely affect human health and the environment around the world,” according to the EPA. A variety of marine animals may consume these toxic microbeads thinking that they may be food. The toxic chemicals can “transfer to the animals that ingest them and cause cellular necrosis, inflammation and laceration of tissues,” according to the Environmental Science and Technology study.
Not only do these microbeads affect the marine ecosystem, but they also affect us humans as well. The toxic chemicals that the microbeads absorb can move along the food chain and eventually end up on our plate. A contaminated fish, for example, may be eaten by us exposing us to the toxic chemicals.
There is no practical way to remove all the microbeads in our oceans, but the best solution may be to ban all microbeads from products. I urge the US Congress to pass a law, with no loopholes, that bans all microbeads from our country. Some companies like Colgate and Johnson & Johnson have already pledged to stop using microbeads. Several states have also banned or regulated microbeads. If these companies and states can make the change, why shouldn’t the rest of the country do the same?
