Home washing machines: Source of potentially harmful ocean 'microplastic' pollution

American Chemical Society EurekAlert 19 Oct 11;

Scientists are reporting that household washing machines seem to be a major source of so-called "microplastic" pollution — bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin — that they now have detected on ocean shorelines worldwide. Their report describing this potentially harmful material appears in ACS' journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Mark Browne and colleagues explain that the accumulation of microplastic debris in marine environments has raised health and safety concerns. The bits of plastic contain potentially harmful ingredients which go into the bodies of animals and could be transferred to people who consume fish. Ingested microplastic can transfer and persist into their cells for months.

How big is the problem of microplastic contamination? Where are these materials coming from? To answer those questions, the scientists looked for microplastic contamination along 18 coasts around the world and did some detective work to track down a likely source of this contamination.

They found more microplastic on shores in densely populated areas, and identified an important source — wastewater from household washing machines. They point out that more than 1,900 fibers can rinse off of a single garment during a wash cycle, and these fibers look just like the microplastic debris on shorelines. The problem, they say, is likely to intensify in the future, and the report suggests solutions: "Designers of clothing and washing machines should consider the need to reduce the release of fibers into wastewater and research is needed to develop methods for removing microplastic from sewage."

Washing machines called pollution source
UPI 19 Oct 11;

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Household washing machines are a major source of "microplastic" pollution, tiny bits of plastic littering beaches worldwide, a study in a U.S. journal reports.

Researcher Mark Browne at University College Dublin and colleagues say the accumulation of microplastic debris in marine environments -- tiny bits of polyester and acrylic smaller than the head of a pin -- raises health and safety concerns as the plastic debris contains potentially harmful chemicals that go into the bodies of animals and could be transferred to people who consume fish.

Writing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the researchers said the highest concentrations are found on shores in densely populated areas and identified wastewater from household washing machines as a major source.

More than 1,900 fibers can rinse off a single garment during a wash cycle, the researchers says, and these fibers look just like the microplastic debris on shorelines.

"Designers of clothing and washing machines should consider the need to reduce the release of fibers into wastewater and research is needed to develop methods for removing microplastic from sewage," they recommended.