In the past fifty years the use of plastics has increased twenty times as
worldwide which benefits the consumers and the industry but it is estimated that there
are over 150 million tons of plastics in the ocean today (Environment Protection
Authority, 2016). Microbeads are micro plastic particle, usually less than one millimeter
in diameter, this is primarily used as cleaning agent or an exfoliant for personal care
products like toothpaste and especially face and body scrubs. The effects of it are for
nourishing skin and oral care. Good thing as well about microbeads is that they are
relatively cheap material. Microbeads differ in size, ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 mm in
scrubs, while about 100 times smaller are found in toothpaste which around 2 to 5
micrometers in size (Schneiderman, 2015, p.2). Even in cosmetics microbeads has
been used to film formation, regulation of viscosity, skin conditioning, emulsion,
stabilizing of the product (Leslie, 2014, p.7). Due to its particle size microbeads become
frequent in waste water from households, and eliminated through the sewage system,
which finally reach a water body.
A single product contains hundreds to thousands of microbeads. This is why now
a days microbead considered as toxic chemical compounds that can threaten aquatic
life as well as the public health in view of the fact that in the aquatic environment,
marine mammals, birds, and fish and shellfish cannot distinguish microplastics from
food (Copeland, 2015, p.1). The pollution caused by microplastics or microbeads in
aquatic habitats is now in a huge discussion and has been the subject of environmental
research as a result different scientific evidence is rapidly growing on the effects of
plastics on the environment and the food chain, particularly in aquatic habitat
(Environment Protection Authority Team 2016). According to study published in the
journal Environmental Science & Technology estimated that 808 trillion plastic
microbeads are washed down US household drains every day. Of those, eight trillion
make it through water treatment plants and out into lakes, oceans and rivers (as cited
Temperton, J. 2016). The problem of the environment facing today is that microbeads
cannot be filtered by the conventional water treatment process and the tendency of
these microbeads is to be discharged into the bodies of water that causes the marine
life to be at risk. Based on the UK parliaments environmental audit committee, a single
shower can result in 100,000 plastic particles being washed down the drain. And in a
recent study more than 700,000 microscopic plastic fibers are released into the
environment during each cycle of a washing machine (Williams, n.d.). The final
destinations of many large plastic items are the oceans that are part of ocean pollution,
threatening the aquatic life.
The impact of microbreads causes a problem in both marine life and human. Due
to its small size it can be easily ingested by marine animals and have a potential to
contaminate the food chain. A committee chiar Mary Creagh said that If someone eats
six oysters, it is likely they will have eaten 50 particles of microplastics, (as cited by
Temperton, J. 2016). The damage cause is now increasingly clear that there are more
that 280 diffrerent species to ingest microbeads and based on the study by the 5 Gyres
Institute they have found microplastics in the gut of a fish (Temperton, 2016). The
physical hazard resulted also through the impact of plastic disposal on marine
ecosystem as it concerns with the ingestion of plastics (Mucha Torre, 2015, p.11).
According to Derraik et al. (2002) (cited by Cole et al., 2011), the effects of microbeads
resulted into injury and death from plastic entanglement and ingestion of the mammals,
fish, marine birds, and reptiles.
Fish and mussels are widely sought after as a food source for humans, hence
the suggestion can be drawn, that microplastic pollution may also be uptaken to the
human organism. Mucha Torre, M. (2015)
An associate professor of Biology in Loyola University Chicago Timothy Hoellein
make an explanation about the ingestion by living creatures that causes the animal to
feel full as a result they less likely to eat the quantity of food that they need or can cause
internal damage (as cited Williams, n.d). And may microbeads is made up of
As Timothy Hoellein, associate professor of Biology at Loyola University
Chicago, explains, the main concerns centre around ingestion by living creatures,
which can cause animals to feel full. Therefore, they are less likely to eat the
amount of food they need to stay alive - or cause internal damage. In addition,
many kinds of microplastic have hydrophobic surfaces that adhere to common
pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).