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In the study by researchers from the Swiss Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute (Empa), published on Thursday in the journal ‘Nature Water’, a significant portion of the nanoparticles released during washing turned out to be water-insoluble oligomers, as Empa announced. These are molecules that are even smaller than the plastic objects. According to Empa, it is not yet clear whether these are toxic to humans or the environment.
“Our results highlight the urgent need to better understand the contribution of water-insoluble oligomer particles to environmental pollution caused by anthropogenic nanoplastics,” the researchers wrote in the study.
In previous studies, Empa researchers were able to demonstrate that washing textiles such as satin, microfiber and jersey releases microplastic particles and even smaller nanoplastic particles. According to Empa, nanoplastic particles can be absorbed into the human body due to their small size. However, little is known about their potential toxicity.
“For other plastics, studies have already shown that nanoparticle oligomers are more toxic than nanoplastics,” Empa researcher Bernd Nowack, who was involved in the study, was quoted in the statement. “This is an indication that this needs further investigation.” (SDA)
Source:Blick
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