研究:茶包會(huì)釋放出微小的塑料顆粒

研究:茶包會(huì)釋放出微小的塑料顆粒

Scientists have made a discovery about tea bags that is going to make any Earl Grey drinker retch — plastic bags of tea release billions of tiny plastic particles into every cup.

科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了一種可以讓任何一個(gè)喝伯爵茶的人都能喝到的袋裝茶，這種袋裝茶在每個(gè)杯子里都會(huì)釋放出數(shù)十億個(gè)微小的塑料顆粒。

A study conducted by a team of Canadian researchers and published Wednesday in the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science and Technology revealed that steeping a single plastic tea bag at brewing temperature — 203 degrees Fahrenheit — releases about 11.6 billion minuscule particles known as “microplastics” and 3.1 billion “nanoplastics” into each cup.

加拿大一個(gè)研究小組進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)研究，周三發(fā)表在美國化學(xué)學(xué)會(huì)的《環(huán)境科學(xué)與技術(shù)》雜志上，結(jié)果顯示，在釀造溫度-203華氏度下浸泡一個(gè)塑料茶包，會(huì)釋放出約116億微克。被稱為“微塑料”和31億“納米塑料”的顆粒進(jìn)入每個(gè)杯子。

Researchers compared the composition of the particles to the original plastic tea bags, and it was a match.

研究人員將這些顆粒物的成分與原來的塑料茶包進(jìn)行了比較，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)兩者是吻合的。

“We think that it is a lot when compared to other foods that contain microplastics,” one of the researchers, Nathalie Tufenkji at McGill University in Quebec, told The New Scientist. “Table salt, which has a relatively high microplastic content, has been reported to contain approximately 0.005 micrograms plastic per gram salt. A cup of tea contains thousands of times greater mass of plastic, at 16 micrograms per cup.”

魁北克麥吉爾大學(xué)的Nathalie Tufenkji是研究人員之一，她在接受《新科學(xué)家》雜志采訪時(shí)表示:“我們認(rèn)為與其他含有微塑料的食物相比，它的含量要高得多。”“食鹽的微塑料含量相對較高，據(jù)報(bào)道，每克食鹽中大約含有0.005微克塑料。而一杯茶所含的塑料量是一杯鹽的數(shù)千倍，每杯16微克。”

The team bought four different tea bags from shops and cafes in Montreal, sliced them open and emptied them before steeping them in the hot water and analyzing them using electron microscopes and other technology.

研究小組從蒙特利爾的商店和咖啡館購買了四種不同的茶葉袋，將它們切成薄片，倒空后浸泡在熱水中，并使用電子顯微鏡和其他技術(shù)進(jìn)行分析。

A control group of uncut tea bags was also used to confirm that the tea bags were causing the plastics to be released — not the tea itself.

一組未切割的茶包也被用來確認(rèn)是茶包導(dǎo)致塑料釋放，而不是茶本身。

Researchers also exposed water fleas — a type of microscopic crustacean — to the tea bags and found that the particles caused “significant behavioral effects and developmental malformations,” Tufenkji told the outlet.

Tufenkji告訴記者，研究人員還將水蚤(一種微小的甲殼類動(dòng)物)暴露在茶葉袋中，發(fā)現(xiàn)這些顆粒物造成了“顯著的行為影響和發(fā)育畸形”。

None of the fleas died, she said.

她說，沒有一只水蚤死亡。

More research is needed to determine the kind of impact the particles will have on humans, the researcher added. For now, she told the New Scientist, it’s best to avoid plastic tea bags and seek out other options.

研究人員補(bǔ)充說，還需要更多的研究來確定粒子對人類的影響。目前，她告訴《新科學(xué)家》雜志，最好避免使用塑料茶包，尋找其他選擇。

“Tea can be purchased in paper tea bags or as loose-leaf tea, which eliminates the need for this single-use plastic packaging,” she said.

她說：“可以購買紙袋或活葉茶的茶葉，這樣就不需要這種一次性塑料包裝了。”