Latest news with #NMPs
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
One simple method to remove microplastics from your drinking water
1 2 Tiny plastic fragments are everywhere, so much so that they've made their way deep inside our bodies. Studies in recent years have repeatedly warned about the health concerns caused by microplastics in drinking and freshwater. From food to bottled water, these particles are entering human systems in alarming quantities. Now, new research suggests there may be a surprisingly simple way to cut down exposure—right at home. Boiling as a low-tech filter In 2024, scientists from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University in China tested how boiling impacts nanoplastics and microplastics (NMPs) in tap water. The researchers explained in their paper: 'Tap water nano/microplastics (NMPs) escaping from centralized water treatment systems are of increasing global concern, because they pose potential health risk to humans via water consumption.' To study this, the team added NMPs into both soft water and hard tap water (richer in minerals), boiled it, and then filtered the precipitates. The results were striking: in some cases, boiling and filtering removed up to 90 percent of the microplastics. The effectiveness depended on the type of water sample. As biomedical engineer Zimin Yu of Guangzhou Medical University and colleagues wrote: 'This simple boiling water strategy can 'decontaminate' NMPs from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of NMPs through water consumption.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The 5 Books Warren Buffett Recommends You To Read in 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo How it works The method proved especially effective in hard water. As the water boiled, calcium carbonate, commonly known as limescale, was forced out of solution, forming chalky deposits. These crusts trapped plastic fragments on their surfaces, making them easier to filter out. The researchers noted: 'Our results showed that nanoplastic precipitation efficiency increased with increasing water hardness upon boiling.' Even in soft water, where less calcium carbonate is present, about a quarter of the NMPs were still removed. Any lime-encrusted particles left behind could then be strained out using something as simple as a stainless steel tea filter. The team emphasized: 'Drinking boiled water apparently is a viable long-term strategy for reducing global exposure to NMPs.' While boiling water has long been a tradition in certain regions, it is not a global practice. As the researchers added: 'Drinking boiled water, however, is often regarded as a local tradition and prevails only in a few regions.' Still, they hope the findings encourage a wider adoption of the habit as microplastic contamination continues to spread.
Agriland
16-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
‘Complete confusion' remains on farm fertiliser allowances
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has been called on to provide more clarity to farmers on the amount of chemical fertiliser they are allowed to spread and the amount of slurry, if any, they are allowed to import. The calls come as the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president Sean McNamara has said there remains 'complete confusion amongst many farmers' relating to the amount of chemical fertiliser they are allowed to apply and the amount of slurry they are allowed to import. The ICSA president said that while the DAFM does inform farmers of their nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) statements, there remains a significant level of confusion amongst farmers on the ground. He said: 'DAFM should be making it clear to farmers every month what fertiliser farmers can or can't spread.' 'There's nothing simple any more about it. It needs to be simplified and made more straightforward so that farmers can easily understand it.' McNamara said that many farmers have 'no confidence' in buying fertiliser to spread on their land because many are unsure what they can or can not spread as they are unaware of their farms' chemical N or P allowances. He said: 'A lot of farmers are opting not to buy fertiliser because they don't know what they can spread and don't want to be caught in the wrong. 'It is very difficult for an ordinary suckler or beef farmer or part-time farmer to work out what they can spread. Agri-advisers have also told Agriland that working out the N and P allowances for farmers can be challenging and takes time. Advisers recommend farmers to have Nutrient Management Plans (NMPs) for their farm detailing fertiliser-spreading plans for the year and slurry management plans. However, advisers acknowledged that this comes at a cost to farmers and that many private agri-advisers do not have sufficient time to do up these plans for farmers. Another agri-adviser told Agriland: 'There is a myriad of detail to be taken into account to calculate how much fertiliser a farmer can spread. 'For their N allowance, we need to know their stocking rate and the amount of ground they have in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), and for P allowances, we need to know their soil sample results, amount of meal fed, and a list of other details. 'It's very complicated stuff and the rules and N values for livestock and N allowances for lower-stocked farms have changed this year, making it more tricky for some farmers.' This sentiment has also been echoed by the Irish Farmers' Association's (IFA's) livestock committee chairperson Declan Hanrahan, who told Agriland: 'The demands being put on small-scale and extensive farms in relation to fertiliser and meal usage are complex and proving difficult to access. 'These obligations should never have been applied to these lower-stocked, extensive farms and must be simplified.' Hanrahan also added that the IFA had previously highlighted that the requirements for small-scale and lower-stocked farms to use low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment is 'not viable or necessary'. Hanrahan said: 'DAFM would have sent out through text that farmers can go online to check their allowance on the nitrogen per hectare, and they would have sent out another text message in relation to feeding of the 14% protein concentrates between April and September.' The maximum crude protein content allowed in concentrates fed to cattle aged two years and over at grass between April 15 and September 30 has been reduced from 15% to 14%. This requirement now applies to all farmers. The IFA Livestock Committee chair said that farmers are going through their advisor to identify the exact amounts of N and P they are allowed to spread, which he said 'is another cost onto the farmers'. Stay tuned to Agriland over the weekend for technical advice on assisting farmers in calculating their stocking rate and advice to assist farmers in identifying the maximum N and P allowances on their farms.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
There's a Surprisingly Simple Way to Remove Microplastics From Drinking Water
Tiny fragments of microplastics are making their way deep inside our bodies in concerning quantities, significantly through our food and drink. In 2024, scientists found a simple and effective means of removing them from water. A team from Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University in China ran tests on both soft water and hard tap water (which is richer in minerals). "Tap water nano/microplastics (NMPs) escaping from centralized water treatment systems are of increasing global concern, because they pose potential health risk to humans via water consumption," write the researchers in their paper. They added in nanoplastics and microplastics before boiling the liquid and then filtering out any precipitates. In some cases, up to 90 percent of the NMPs were removed by the boiling and filtering process, though the effectiveness varied based on the type of water. Of course the big benefit is that most people can do it using what they already have in their kitchen. "This simple boiling water strategy can 'decontaminate' NMPs from household tap water and has the potential for harmlessly alleviating human intake of NMPs through water consumption," write biomedical engineer Zimin Yu from Guangzhou Medical University and colleagues. A greater concentration of NMPs was removed from samples of hard tap water, which naturally forms a build-up of limescale (or calcium carbonate) as it is heated. Commonly seen inside kitchen kettles, the chalky substance forms on the plastic's surface as changes in temperature force the calcium carbonate out of solution, effectively trapping the plastic fragments in a crust. "Our results showed that nanoplastic precipitation efficiency increased with increasing water hardness upon boiling," the team writes. "For example, from 34 percent at 80 mg L−1 to 84 percent and 90 percent at 180 and 300 mg L−1 of calcium carbonate, respectively." Even in soft water, where less calcium carbonate is dissolved, roughly a quarter of the NMPs were snagged from the water. Any bits of lime-encrusted plastic could then be removed through a simple filter like the stainless steel mesh used to strain tea, the researchers say. Past studies have measured fragments of polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate in potable tap water, which we're consuming daily in varying quantities. To put the strategy to the ultimate test, the researchers added even more nanoplastic particles, which were effectively reduced in number. "Drinking boiled water apparently is a viable long-term strategy for reducing global exposure to NMPs," write the researchers. "Drinking boiled water, however, is often regarded as a local tradition and prevails only in a few regions." The research team hopes that drinking boiled water might become a more widespread practice as plastics continue to take over the world. While it's still not certain exactly how damaging this plastic is to our bodies, it's clearly not the healthiest of snacks. Plastics have already been linked to changes in the gut microbiome and the body's antibiotic resistance. The team behind this latest study wants to see more research into how boiled water could keep artificial materials out of our bodies – and perhaps counter some of the alarming effects of microplastics that are emerging. "Our results have ratified a highly feasible strategy to reduce human NMP exposure and established the foundation for further investigations with a much larger number of samples," write the authors. The research has been published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. An earlier version of this article was published in March 2024. 'Wild Swimming' Does Something Amazing to Your Mind, Study Reveals A Simple Mistake Might Have Encouraged Sick People to Eat The Dead Men And Women May Respond Differently to Latest Alzheimer's Drugs
