BBC News report of an recent lab study, which found that polyester and acrylic clothing shed thousands of plastic fibres each time it was washed. Sending another source of plastic pollution down the drain and eventually, into the ocean. Prof. Richard Blackburn, head of the sustainable materials research group at the University of Leeds, says that textile-makers need to think about what happens “in use”, when we wear and wash our clothes.
Dr. Andrew Sweetman, from the Lancaster Environment Centre, points out in the report, that lab and field studies have shown that some PFC-coatings can accumulate in the tissues of fish and other wildlife as they consume contaminated food and water – building up a dose that can become harmful.
Source: BBC News – 2017
Link to: BBC Science & Environment: Report on Microplatic
