CHAPTER 3: LIFE ON THE LINE


47


Box 14: How tiny plastics are entering our soil


A video link


https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and- stories/story/plastic-planet-how-tiny-plastic- particles-are-polluting-our-soil


Polyacrylic fibres in soil.


Source: Anderson Abel de Souza Machado


The mismanagement of plastic waste has harmful impacts on human well-being. Improper disposal or burning of plastic waste is dangerous to human health. People living near plastic incineration sites can be exposed toxic pollutants emitted in the process that can lead to skin and respiratory hazards, and eye damage (Lithner 2011).


Pesky plastics ending up in our seafood


Silent, small and almost invisible microplastics are entering our food chain (Figure 24; Bhargava et al. 2018; Seltenrich 2015). Seafood, a key dietary component for


people living in Asia and the Pacific (Section 2.4), is likely to be the direct cause of human exposure to microplastics and other toxic compounds such as heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. In Malaysia, a study suggests that people who eat dried fish product could be eating up to 246 pieces of microplastics a year (Johnston 2017; Karami et al.2017)! And there is a need to be very concerned about plastics in this region’s marine environment. Plastics are affecting marine biodiversity, water quality, and now, our food – it is about time that we took urgent action, or these plastics will stay with us for a very, very long time.


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