Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
In recent years, scientists have discovered increasing amounts plastic particles in deep oceans, Arctic snow, drinking water, and even breast milk.
How’s that possible?
The answer lies in nearly 350 million tons of plastic being produced globally each year, and about 250,000 tons of plastic littering our oceans.
Precipitation cycles carry microplastics through the air, scattering them across the planet and situating them within natural food chains that comprise ecosystems. As a result, these durable particles have ended up just about everywhere, and scientists believe they’re not going away anytime soon.
Beyond deriving from plastic debris that has degraded into smaller pieces, microplastics have also been prominent in health and beauty products, such as certain cleansers and toothpastes. Microbeads, a type of microplastic, are a form of polyethylene plastic that easily passes through water filtration systems eventually posing a risk to aquatic life.
A recent study led by Stanford University researchers determined that blue whales consume up to 10 million pieces of microplastic daily, largely through the prey that they eat.
Environment International reported that traces of microplastics were discovered in 80 per cent of blood samples taken from 22 anonymized, healthy humans.
And researchers with Universita Politecnica della Marche found microplastics in 26 of 34 samples of breast milk, all collected from a randomized group of women.
But what are the dangers of all these microplastics?
Scientists don’t yet know. At least not fully.
With some plastic specks small enough to infiltrate cells and tissues, some studies have suggested a correlation to certain cancers and various health problems, especially with microplastics leading to levels of chemical toxicity.
As Nature reports, the potential dangers of ingesting microplastics depends on how quickly these particles travel through the human body – a factor that researchers are only beginning to study.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.