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Comment by goelbab | Hacker News Reader

It’s hard for science to prove because there’s no control group - everyone is exposed.

There’s also no clear definition of microplastics that I’ve seen. Different plastics have different toxicitiy

For what it’s worth, you don’t need a randomized controlled trial if you can offer an explanation for how microplastics affect human health.

Hence the classic joke “As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomised controlled trials. Advocates of evidence based medicine have criticised the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data.”

It's a bit too much of an umbrella term for regulation to fix in one swoop, but if i were alive in the 50s and had the internet i simply would not buy lead-paint.

And not buying plastic is

not always an option and to some this entire concern could be considered a luxury.

Who are you trying to communicate this issue to and what solutions are there that they’d find reasonable until governments address it? If it’s simply “don’t buy plastic” then I understand that I’m out of bounds. Perhaps along with many others.

Nice looking page.

> if i were alive in the 50s and had the internet i simply would not buy lead-paint

The contamination is so widespread and is in things you can't avoid (like the air) but I have made some lifestyle changes that I hope decrease my exposure at least a little bit. I:

- don't drink water out of plastic bottles

- don't use any plastic dishes at home

- switched from using tupperware for food storage to mason jars

- use bedding made from natural materials (mostly cotton)

- prefer clothing made from cotton as opposed to polyester (exception: some exercise clothing)

- don't eat meat (this was not because of concern about plastic, but I think it's helpful here too)

My family mocks me for this, but I also hold my breath when I clean the lint filter in the dryer, because that cloud of dust that shoots up is, I believe anyway, a whole pile of breathable microplastics.

Preliminary studies show that you are actually drastically impacting your plastic intake. Try brushing your teeth with nonplastics too!

Could you explain why?

Plastiphobia, mostly.

What about the containers your food comes in? These days its very hard for fruits and vegs not to be in contact with plastic

Animal studies seem like the best tool for untangling this, and they indicate that high plastic doses cause a variety of health effects, some of which seem to align with broad health trends we see in our population over time, like in fertility.

It's not like there's zero data to inform the risk calculation.

Science works with cases with no control groups all the time

Yes but in those situations, you typically can at best find associations between variables and outcomes. We really want evidence of causality, although it sort of depends on how you interpret the precautionary principle.

Yes, but teasing apart causality and confounding variables is very difficult.

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