In an article published some time ago entitled: " The Density of Plastic Creates Its Misfortune in Our Society ", we warned of the danger of waste that cannot be seen and of that which, much mistreated like plastic, remained visible in water due to their specific weight.

In fact, we are rightly indignant when we see plastic residues floating in the seas and rivers, but unfortunately we do not consider other types of waste which, in an unholy way, are abandoned in waterways or in the seas themselves.

What we don't see probably doesn't scare us, but the consequences of submerged waste on the environment are completely real and it's better to know them.

The CNR took care to make comparisons between the microplastics floating in our seas and the tires lying on the seabed, trying to understand the degree of danger for the environment and humans.

A study has found that, in water, the bacteria that grow on microparticles derived from tires are more dangerous for the environment than those that grow on fragments of plastic bottles, which could instead pose problems for human health.

Plastics and microplastics are recognized as an emerging pollutant with adverse effects on the health of the environment, humans and aquatic animals.

A study by the Water Research Institute of the National Research Council of Verbania (Cnr-Irsa) has demonstrated how different microplastics can cause a different impact on bacterial communities in water. The research was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

As Gianluca Corno of the Cnr-Irsa explains to us, in a system that replicates an Italian river or lake we compared the bacterial communities that grow on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) obtained from a bottle of soft drink, very abundant in water, with those that develop on used tire particles, which are almost unknown due to the fact that they tend not to float and sink very slowly", explains Gianluca Corno of the Cnr-Irsa.

We have therefore demonstrated that the former offers shelter to human pathogenic bacteria that can cause immediate risk to human health, without however encouraging immediate growth.

The tire particles, thanks to the constant release of organic matter and nutrients, instead favor the abnormal growth of so-called opportunistic bacteria which, although not causing a direct risk for humans, cause a loss of environmental quality, microbial biodiversity, and a consequent impoverishment of the ecosystem services offered.

Generally, the bacterial communities that grow on microplastics as biofilms are studied without examining in depth the differences linked to the type of plastic on which they proliferate, but as a single compartment, the so-called plastisphere.

This result presents us, for the first time, with the need to reconsider the methods of analyzing microplastic pollution and to take into account tire particles, which can have a decisive impact on the quality of aquatic ecosystems in nations such as 'Italy where rivers are particularly exposed to this type of pollution.

Sources: CNR