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submitted 8 months ago by ZeroCool@beehaw.org to c/science@beehaw.org
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[-] Kstile@midwest.social 67 points 8 months ago

Somehow, it feels worse if it is an aerosol.

[-] frog@beehaw.org 85 points 8 months ago

I read the article. Apparently it only really works with hard water - that's water with a high concentration of calcium carbonate. At high temperatures, the calcium carbonate becomes a solid, trapping the microplastics inside it, which is then removed from the water with a regular filter.

[-] admin@beehaw.org 19 points 8 months ago

Luckily I have well water...probably some of the cleanest water on Earth...I've tested it several times with kits.

[-] Kalkaline@leminal.space 22 points 8 months ago
[-] admin@beehaw.org 11 points 8 months ago

Probably for a very long time...we live in a very remote area...in the wilderness of Maine...our county has never allowed commercial development...the only things here are camps/cabins/homes.

[-] andrai@feddit.de 20 points 8 months ago

There is microplastic in Antarctica. Unless your well feeds on an ancient aquifer instead of groundwater it will still be contaminated.

[-] QualifiedKitten@kbin.social 7 points 8 months ago

I'm pretty sure microplastics have even been detected in rainwater.

[-] Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz 4 points 8 months ago

But what about the counties upstream of you?

[-] admin@beehaw.org 3 points 8 months ago

I don't believe that's how aquifers work.

[-] chaogomu@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

Maine doesn't really have anyone "upstream".

[-] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 3 points 8 months ago

No Washington, D.C. anymore?

[-] admin@beehaw.org 2 points 8 months ago
[-] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 8 months ago

ow never mind haha. I thought you lived there in the past. lol

[-] admin@beehaw.org 2 points 8 months ago

No worries.

[-] FunkyMonk@kbin.social 1 points 8 months ago

for... now.

[-] P1r4nha@feddit.de 17 points 8 months ago

You tested it for microplastics? They're everywhere. Even on top of mountains

[-] stembolts@programming.dev 10 points 8 months ago

The Marianna Trench contains microplastics. (not a meme)

The eggs of all newly born children contain microplastics. (not a meme)

But this person's water-well. Free and clear. I think the key is this their well is outside of the environment. (meme)

[-] KyuubiNoKitsune 17 points 8 months ago

These fucking clickbait titles.

It only really works with hard water, otherwise you'd have to add calcium to the water before boiling it, and they only tested it with something like 3 different plastics, and they're the most benign and least reactive ones.

This is not a magical solution to clean any water you boil.

[-] Mkengine@feddit.de 4 points 8 months ago

Could instead reverse osmosis remove those particles and be used as consumer products?

[-] KyuubiNoKitsune 3 points 8 months ago

Yes to the first, as for the second, who knows, but most likely not, as it'll be mixed plastics and you can't just mix them all together and make something out of them

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 8 months ago

I was about to say. The headline sounds like the equivalent of removing mud from water by boiling it.

Removing fine particles by aggregating them isn't a brand new concept either, for what it's worth.

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic debris measuring less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) long,

That can't be right. There sure ain't 5mm pieces of plastic in my drinking water. 0.05mm would be hard to believe.

[-] Inflo@sopuli.xyz 2 points 8 months ago

Not sure that's correct, but 5 mm being the upper cap doesn't mean they're that long.

I guess the author has just googled "define microplastics"... but when we think about microplastics in our drinking water we're not thinking about 5mm pieces of plastic.

A consumer grade filter will remove things larger than 0.0005mm.

[-] B0rax@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

Sadly, that is the definition of microplastics. I’m not sure why a 5mm piece is considered „micro“

[-] Seraph@kbin.social 7 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Disturbing that micro plastics evaporate!

So if we just boil the ocean...

[-] BolexForSoup@kbin.social 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

It doesn’t. Please read the article.

[-] DarkGamer@kbin.social 6 points 8 months ago

The oil industry is doing all they can!

[-] P1r4nha@feddit.de 3 points 8 months ago

Well, not boiling, but we do heat it up

[-] k_rol@lemmy.ca 1 points 8 months ago

It bonds with calcium but then they don't say why it's not an issue anymore. Does it become a super stable particle? I don't fully get it.

They say filter out the calcium

[-] Hello_there@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago

There's going to be some people that are going to start boiling all of their water after reading this article

[-] Pantherina@feddit.de 1 points 8 months ago

Omg yes. Please dont, people.

this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2024
142 points (100.0% liked)

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