New Delhi, 23 June (IANS). We use recycle plastic many times in everyday life, but using it can prove to be very dangerous for us. A new research warns that a small pellet of recycled plastic can also contain more than 80 chemical elements, which can have a serious effect on the hormone system and fat metabolism (lipid metabolism) of the organisms dissolving in water.
The crisis of plastic pollution has now reached globally, which threatens both human and environmental health. The solution to this crisis is often described as ‘plastic recycling’, but this study proves that this remedy is also not without risk.
Scientists at the University of Gothenberg, Sweden and the University of Lipzing in Germany, published in the Journal of Hazards Materials, said that they bought a polyethylene plastic pellets recycled from different parts of the world and submerged them in water for 48 hours. After this, the larvae of zebrafish (larva stage) were kept in that water for five days.
According to the research, changes were found in the activity of the genes of fishes, hormone control and genes associated with metabolism.
Ajora Koning Cardagar, a leading writer of the study and researcher at the University of Gothenburg, said Ajora Koning Cardagar said, “To see such deep biological reactions within such a short period of duration shows how big a threat can be to the health of the chemicals present in plastic.”
Earlier research has also revealed that harmful chemicals present in plastic also affect humans. Such as decline in reproductive health, risk of obesity, diabetes and cancer.
Researchers also said that the biggest challenge in plastic recycling is that we never fully know which chemicals are present in it. Finding various chemicals in plastic can lead to mutual chemical activities, which make that material more toxic.
Meanwhile, representatives of all countries of the world to finalize the global plastic treaty under the United Nations Environment Program are going to gather for the final talks in Geneva (Switzerland) in August.
-IANS
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