What's the link between
old-school music records and state-of-the-art research on microplastics? Most
old records are made from polyvinyl chloride which in slang people call
'vinyl'. When I lower the stylus onto the record there's evidently friction
there, which creates tiny particles. And those tiny particles can turn into a
big problem. Our resident DJ is Christian Laforsch. His daytime job: professor
of ecology. I did a lot of DJing while I was at college and beforehand.
Starting with vinyl, then CDs and finally digital.
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
I spent 20 years DJing in a
Munich club. But now, he's playing a different tune hoping to rid the world of
microplastics. Bayreuth famous for its Richard Wagner opera-house and annual
festival. But while the town looks immaculately clean on the surface, there's a
less visible problem lurking on the streets that Christian Laforsch has his
sights on. Wherever he and his colleague go, they find the immediate culprit:
plastic waste. One day, back when I started looking at the issue of plastic
pollution, I decided to count the number of plastic fragments between my home
and the supermarket. And over those two or three hundred meters, I spotted 52
fragments of plastic with the naked eye while walking. And if I'd bent down
like this, I would've found a lot more. They're simply everywhere. You can see
how abrasion is creating more and more microplastic. All the white bits A mass
of tiny particles, decomposing into microplastic. So does this pose a danger to
us? Right now, we believe it's the small fragments that present the greater
danger. With smaller particles, there's a bigger risk that instead of just
staying in the digestive tract and being excreted, they could pass into body
tissue. And that could lead to inflammatory reactions. Visible plastic waste is
unsightly, but relatively easy to dispose of.
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
Once it reaches the microscopic
scale, however, it contaminates rivers, soil and the air all vital for our
survival. And this is precisely the issue the two men are investigating: what
effect do microplastics have on the environment and on us? It's a problem
affecting the entire planet. Microplastics have now even been found in snow on
the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Circle. A disturbing discovery. Can
sewage treatment plants at least filter out microplastics from our water?
Professor Christian Laforsch from the University of Bayreuth is on a field trip
behind the municipal sewage works, where the filtered wastewater is discharged
into the local river. His team have devised their own manta-trawl a net for
picking up the plastic particles. OK, time to launch Manta! With little data
available until recently, it's a pioneering field of research that requires
innovation on the part of the scientists. Like other research groups new to the
issue, we thought it would be pretty straightforward: just a matter of going
out, taking samples and performing an experiment. But these particles behave
differently. They're a completely new class of substance, and incredibly
complex. People talk about "microplastic" in the environment. But it
comes in a range of different shapes and sizes different compositions and
different basic plastics. It's a really complex subject. A challenge for the
young research assistant but also for a renowned professor who's not shy of
pitching in on the physical side of research too.
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
These particles are incredibly
hard to capture, because you need different analytical methods, different forms
of experiments and completely different sampling scenarios. It's a lot more
difficult to detect them, and to do risk assessments. It's really exciting! The
first step in each survey is a distinctly low-tech affair collecting and
rinsing samples by hand. But actually finding the minute particles can be
easier said than done. Pour it all in and there you go. With a few particles
you can see with your own eyes that they're plastic. Look that little blue one
here. And we'll see what all the white stuff is in the lab. But there's quite a
lot in there. Germans tend to think of their country as a clean one. But take a
closer look, and you'll find this and that's just one part of the problem. The
researchers believe that microplastics enter rivers via an untold array of
routes. They want to know what impact they have once they get there. To assist
their investigation of conditions on the bottom of the riverbed, they've
brought along a special pump another instrument they developed themselves. Now
carefully place it on top. The pump presses the water from down below through
special aluminum filters. Their perforations are a fraction of a millimeter
wide, enabling the researchers to fish out particles that are invisible to the
human eye. They're hoping to gain new insights almost like on a mission to
Mars. Back in the university lab, it's a question of rinse and repeat. The aim
is reduce the filtrate so that it only contains the microscopically small
plastic articles. The sample is now put under the microscope. Doctoral student
Julia Möller uses a pipette to distribute the substance in small portions onto
specimen slides. Now that they're visible, she can weed out the plastic
particles by hand, one at a time An extremely laborious task But it's the only
option she has for a precise examination of the isolated fibers. You can tell
from the peaks that it's polyethylene. Global research into microplastics is
still a fairly new field, but one where the Bayreuth University team is leading
the way. It boasts scientists from all manner of disciplines. Among them is
Seema Agarwal, a professor of chemistry. Hello there Seema. Hi Christian. How
are you? Good, how are you? Agarwal is interested in the global perspective.
She's familiar with the problem of plastic waste from her native India which
has given her an added incentive. It's not solely about pure research. We also
want to develop new solutions. Seema Agarwal has been looking at where the
plastic pollution chain begins, and hopes to find alternative materials to
prevent microplastics being created in the first place. She regularly consults
colleagues from various scientific disciplines.
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
This is very interesting to work
with other people, because sometimes the same material, the same problem, you
see from different angles. And it really make then ‘Spass’” But there's no
"Spass" or fun for the professor when it comes to the root of this
growing global issue: our garbage and what we do with it. Yes, 'Plastikmüll' is
a very long problem and the problem is when the don’t manage our plastic waste
properly. It is like cleaning your own yard and throwing this plastic waste
into neighbour’s yard. So I don’t see the problem myself, but the problem is
still there. And this was happening and this is a very long problem, because
the plastic waste was not disposed properly. It was thrown somewhere or sent to
some other country and they were not disposing it properly. So this is the
problem. Is it possible to combat plastic waste with chemical formulas? Seema
Agarwal says: Yes! They enable the development of new substances with superior
properties a challenge she sees as a responsibility for all her
fellow-chemists. It is the chemistry that makes plastic that's why the
chemistry should solve it also. And chemistry can solve it also. This PET for
example, we use in water bottles in large amounts. And this is a big problem.
If it goes by chance and leaks in our environment. It stays in our environment
for a long time. So chemistry can provide a nice new material like PET, but if
by chance it leaks into our environment, it will not stay there for a long
time. But how dangerous are microplastics for the environment and for us?
Professor Laforsch's search for answers also features algae and daphnia,
commonly known as "water fleas". There are the algae which the daphnia
feed off. You can see the haze of algae and the first daphnia to notice it are
the lucky ones, because they're able to swim into this big cloud of food and
get their fill. But why water fleas? I've been working with water fleas for
quite some time. They're one of the model organisms in ecology, especially in
aquatic ecology, because they're the link between unicellular algae and higher
trophic levels. So a lot of fish like feeding on water fleas, making them a
stock component of the ocean's nutritional network. The second factor behind
using water fleas is that these are all females. Daphnia reproduce
partheno-genetically or asexually. This provides us with genetically identical
individuals for experiments, which means you can rule out genetic variability.
It's a fantastic model organism, because you can work with naturally produced
clones. That work involves a series of constantly repeated experiments using a
variety of instruments. The researchers are still at a very early stage of
their mission, but they' convinced that they'll be able to find answers and
solutions and also that we all have to change our habits. Our treatment of the
environment needs to be a lot more sustainable. It's up to us and the next
generation to ensure that we're able to maintain our modern lifestyle. Of
course we too want to have comfortable lives, but we need to take a more
sustainable and mindful approach to all the resources available. The professor
and diving enthusiast asks whether at some point in the near future, what we
see in an aquarium will seem like a dream world, with nature destroyed by toxic
substances dreamt up by humankind. Seema Agarwal shows her students how to
analyze the level of toxins contained in plastics a vital step in assessing the
dangers posed by microplastics. This machine can smell pollutants, especially
the additives in synthetic materials a primary focus in the work of the chemist
and her team. If we talk about toxicity of micro plastic, it is not only the
plastic material. The pristine plastic materials in general are not toxic,
because they are long molecules. It is the additive we put in the plastic for
increasing thermal stability, UV stability, giving colour to it or plasticizer
to it, they might be toxic. Professor Christian Laforsch and his team are on the
road to the next hotspot. After taking those water samples, they now head out
to a patch of farmland again on the look-out for microplastics. Taking samples
here is far more straightforward than time-consuming lab tests and working
outdoors makes for a refreshing change of environment. Julia Möller is doing
her doctoral thesis on microplastics in soil. What impact do microplastics have
on soil? Where do they come from, and where do they end up? Do they eventually
just disintegrate? And are they really dangerous for us? First: we can't even
say how much plastic is actually out there which is why we're doing this
research. And we're not the only 'consumers' here. Look at all the soil
organisms living in our fields that are mostly beneficial. We need to know how
much of this plastic is in the soil and what damage it does to those tiny
creatures. The field samples are sent straight to the lab at Bayreuth
University. Julia Möller then transfers them to a sieve system in order to sort
out the larger particles a procedure that's not as simple as it might sound.
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
The sieves are placed in a
vibrator device, which shakes up the contents over a period of several hours in
order to ensure a strict separation of the composite elements. It's only the
tiniest particles that the researcher is interested in. Over in the adjacent
lab, Seema Ararwal and her fellow-chemists are developing a new biodegradable
synthetic material. Assuming they're successful, the aim is for it to one day
be tested in a composting facility. The facilities in this region only compost
for 2 or 3 months. So it should be possible to completely decompose a
biodegradable polymer in precisely that time-frame. The team are constantly
working on new methodologies, in the process constantly discovering new insights.
They want the data they collect with their cutting-edge instruments to help
them devise a kind of plastic that does not break down into miniscule pieces
and cause harm to living organisms. First of all we can see that our material
is bio-degradable. Second: we can also comment how much it has bio-degraded in
how much time. This is very important to comment. So when the new material
comes to the market, this data is very important. After water and soil, now
it's time to look at the air. For this, the team deploys a special measuring
mast. It was likewise built by hand at the university's dedicated workshop to
cater to the precise requirements of the scientists. We all know about the
exhaust fumes and particulate matter in the air that we breathe but what about
those invisible microplastics? Could they pose a similar danger? In order to
imitate human air-intake, the mast has a horizonal capture-basket attached at
head-height. Ecologist and "plastic-in-air" specialist Jakob Oster
also frequently wonders whether he's constantly breathing in the tiny
particles. Maybe it's a subconscious thing. Maybe! But it does make you more
aware of the things around you which is a bit scary. The mast is left in place
for a number of hours. As the air streams through the basket's nets, the team
suspect it will leave behind some of those microscopically small plastic
particles. The smaller the particles are, the bigger the subsequent challenge
in the lab. The various scientists have already spent several years refining
and improving their methods and sometimes discarding them. But their combined
efforts have proved productive. Our knowledge of microplastics has improved
significantly compared to just a decade ago thanks also to the researchers in
Bayreuth and their extensive deployment of new technology. Jakob Oster uses a
scanning electron microscope to render the invisible plastic visible. The
machine helps to both count the particles and determine their constituent
elements. The collaborative research effort brings together a range of
institutes at different locations all working on the same subject. This is
research for the future that is also relevant today. The results are now
available from the samples taken out in the field and from wastewater. It can
take days if not weeks to process the material for the researchers to finally
access the actual microplastic content and produce a detailed analysis. The
summary shows pretty clearly that we have both larger fragments but above all
smaller ones. What was the average size in the sample? Around 50 microns.
That’s 50 thousandths of a millimeter. But it's the particles' content, not
size, that the researchers are primarily interested in. That's polyethylene.
P-E as you can see here very nicely in the reverse image, and the chemical
characterization has clearly identified it as PE. And polyethylene or
"PE" has an extremely long life making it a particularly ominous
adversary for the researchers and is a significant source of microplastics. But
there are signs of progress elsewhere: these candies from China are wrapped in
a piece of rice paper that is itself edible. This was eatable package material
and you can eat it. But the idea will never be that we start throwing this
packaging outside in the environment. This would be a very bad message. Never,
we are not developing something so that everybody starts throwing it in the
environment. No. We are developing something which can be recycled, that can be
managed in a waste management procedure like normal plastic. But if plastic by
chance, intentionally or unintentionally gets leaked into the environment, it
does not persist like other polymers in the environment there. So how do our
bodies react when we take in microplastics?
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
Here, the researchers are
discussing images of animal cells. Today, we know that our digestive tracts
contain microplastics but what happens then? Some of these images show how the
plastics are absorbed by the cells. In this case: in a mouse. We've shown that
the cells absorb the particles and that the intake is higher if there was
already microplastic in the environment. But the big question is whether
there's this effect with humans too. We also know even if not the reasons why
that the so-called gut microbiome changes depending on the types of plastic in
the colon. The gut microbiome is really important for taking up particular
nutrients, but is also essential for our immune system, of course. We do now
know that the plastic affects the composition of our colon's microorganisms for
whatever reason. And that can have a negative impact on them, because it means
a disturbance of the natural gut microbiota. The team from Bayreuth hope to get
answers at the University of Erlangen, a leading center of medical research.
Here too there are specialists working in the microplastics collaborative
project. They're likewise looking into what effect plastic particles have in
human body cells. What might the long-term consequences be for our health? And
how high is the risk of them causing cancer? The researchers from Bayreuth present
their images of the mouse cells to professor of anatomy Friedrich Paulsen and
ask whether these findings can be applied to humans. You have to look at the
potential influence on tumor development, and whether it promotes chronic
diseases degenerative changes such as rheumatic conditions or degenerative
diseases affecting, say, the cartilage and the musculoskeletal system. And some
companies are also on board the general research mission. Rehau is a major
international supplier of polymer-based products, and is also based in
Erlangen. Chemist Seema Agarwal is eager to join forces with industry in order
to identify and develop solutions. solutions that from stage one of the
manufacturing chain mean looking at how to prevent microplastics actually being
created. Rehau's head of sustainability Andreas Jenne explains the composition
of a new garden hose. To the pleasant surprise of Seema Agarwal, he confirms
that: yes, the material can be recycled. But there's a lot of work to be done.
Tire-wear is a major source of microplastic emissions a problem that Rehau is
also tackling. It's working on a filter that could be installed in road
drainage systems in order to collect the particles resulting from that
abrasion. Here, industry and researchers have the common goal of ensuring that
our environment is a healthy one. This what I see from my colleagues, my
contacts all over the world is, everybody has the same opinion. We have to do
something with our resources so that our future generations have sufficient. I
think that is one of the definitions of sustainability. We should not waste our
resources, we should enjoy the present without sacrificing the future.
Christian Laforsch is also back on the road to look at another exciting new
development. He's come to Röthenbach, also near Bayreuth, to meet inventor
Sebastian Peukert. His new construction would be deployed where the professor
sees the most obvious need: a sewage treatment plant.
How dangerous are microplastics to humans | Sky
Documentry
The machine is specifically
designed to filter out microplastics from the wastewater. The local mayor has
also come along the person who would ultimately buy the pilot facility. But
first, Sebastian Peukert gives the low-down on his ingeniously simple-sounding
invention. The idea genuinely occurred to me in the middle of the night! I woke
up at 3 a.m. after having read an article by Christian Laforsch. I thought:
hell, why not give it a try? So the next day I made a sketch of how it might
work. And the way we built it is practically identical to that sketch. His idea
was for a special kind of "hydrocyclone" machine. During the cleaning
process, it subjects the water to massive centrifugal forces that push the
plastic particles to the inside, where they can be separated off. Initial
testing at the treatment plant has producing promising results, with the
majority of the microplastics being removed from the wastewater. The mayor of
Röthenbach sees it as an investment in the future of his community.
Microplastics are not visible, but people are aware of them. There's been
totally positive feedback in newspaper reports about the pilot facility. It's a
great thing that's good for the environment. It only adds a couple of euros
more a year to the wastewater bill and that's something everyone can afford. So
this treatment plant, at least, should soon have no more microplastics after
cleaning its wastewater. I love it, because our objective was always about
finding solutions, not just highlighting all the bad things. It's the same
principle with our special research project: instead of focusing on pure
research, we also look for answers. But when it comes to answers, what's the
personal feeling of the new filter's inventor? What does realizing a vision
feel like? It can feel like tilting-at-windmills, or that you're a pioneer.
We're not going to get the plastic problem under control overnight. Plastic in
our environment is going to remain an issue for centuries or millennia. What
matters now is finding a way of minimizing the sources of contamination. And
that's a task that enjoys total commitment from the researchers at Bayreuth
University. They face a long road ahead with no end of further experiments in
their quest for solutions. And always in the mix: the DJ-turned professor on a
mission to make the world a groovier place by making microplastics history.
