WorksheetsPlastics, Recycling, and Landfills....Oh My
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 8mins
What does US NIST stand for?
US Na-
tional Institute of Standards
and Technology (NIST)
US Na-
utical Institute of Solids
and Technology (NIST)
US Na-
tional Instruction of Schools
and Thermodynamics (NIST)
US Na-
utical Institute of Sedimentary
Tools (NIST)
The NIST investigated whether everyday
consumer products contribute
to nanometer-sized plastic particles in water,
they were surprised to see that...
almost every plastic material
they put in ultrapure 100 °C water added tiny par-
ticles to the water.
almost every plastic material
they put in ultrapure 100 °C water did not have an effect on the water.
almost every plastic material
they put in ultrapure 100 °C water dissolved and biodegraded within 2 hours
almost every plastic material
they put in ultrapure 100 °C was hydrophobic
In April, the team published its results on
food-grade nylon film and single-use coffee cups
lined with low-density polyethylene
In the
case of the coffee cups, the particles were not pure
polyethylene, says Christopher Zangmeister, an aerosol scientist at NIST who led the work.
In the
case of the coffee cups, the particles were pure
polyethylene, says Christopher Zangmeister, an aerosol scientist at NIST who led the work.
In the
case of the coffee cups, the particles were pure
polyethylene, says Christopher Zangmeister, a chemical engineer working for Folders.
In the
case of the coffee cups, the particles were pure
polyethylene, says Christopher Zangmeister, a beverage specialist for Keurig
Tiny plastic particles are not just released from
disposable coffee cups and nylon films used in
food packaging and commercial kitchens. Micro-
plastics, typically less than 5 mm in diameter, and
nanoplastics, less than 1 μm in diameter
seem to
be everywhere scientists look
in water, food, and
air
in human blood, lung tissue, and stool.
All of the choices listed here
Most of the toxicology studies on mi-
croplastics published so far have used
polystyrene beads because...
such beads are easy to
purchase in different sizes and with var-
ious functional groups, but they are not
representative of microplastics that scien-
tists are finding in the environment.
Such beads are very expensive to
purchase in different sizes and with var-
ious functional groups
they are a great
representative of microplastics that scien-
tists are finding in the environment.
other materials are not readily available and silicone beads are not available for public purchase
Over the past 1 1⁄2 years, Sayes has been
collaborating with researchers at the US
Environmental Protection Agency in Cin-
cinnati to analyze microplastic particles in...
water samples.
air samples.
gas samples.
biome samples.
Most microplastic particles in air are
also_______, not _______, says Stepha-
nie Wright, an environmental toxicologist
at Imperial College London.
particles,
liquids
non-toxic,
toxic
fragments,
spheres
helpful,
harmful
Nanotoxicology taught researchers that
the presence of endotoxins and soluble
impurities like iron can affect how cells re-
spond to particles,
True
False
“We don’t want to replicate the mistakes
we made with nanotoxicology 10–15 years
ago,” says Philip Demokritou, the Henry
Rutgers Chair in Nanoscience and Envi-
ronmental Bioengineering at Rutgers Uni-
versity and an adjunct professor at Harvard
University’s T.H. Chan School of Public
Health. What was that mistake?
The DEA found that in studying the effects on human subjects violated several privacy laws
Funds were not collected before the study so there was not enough funding to continue the project
Many of the people involved in the study died and they had no way of collecting data.
People rushed to buy commercial-
ly available engineered nanoparticles for
toxicity studies, he says. Impurities and
batch-to-batch variability made it difficult
to compare results across studies, he says.
In an effort to better control the prop-
erties of nanomaterials used in toxicology
studies and to understand more real-world
exposures, ...
nanosafety research was established at Harvard in 2016.
they established a
center for nanosafety research
The US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which is part of the National Institutes of Health,
provided funding to establish the center.
All of the answer choices
People are exposed to microplastics primarily from...
ingesting particles in food and
water, as well as inhaling particles in air.
touching contaminated surfaces
purchasing toys and school supplies that contain high levels of plastics
their home environment roofing material and paints
In vitro studies also suggest that the
presence of micro- and nanoplastics in food and water
can lead to a disorder known as ...
hypothyroidism, the condition produced by a deficiency of thyroid secretion, resulting in goiter, myxedema, and, when untreated in children, intellectual disability.
diabetes, a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism, usually occurring in genetically predisposed individuals, characterized by inadequate production or utilization of insulin and resulting in excessive amounts of glucose in the blood and urine
leaky gut, in which material
escapes the digestive tract and interacts
directly with other tissues rather than
having the intestinal lining as a filter,
tachycardia, an excessively rapid heartbeat.
The_______________________,
for example, sets limits on the total mass
of a polymer allowed to migrate from food
packaging,
US Food and Drug Administration
________________ is used to
make soda and water bottles
polyethylene terephthalate
bamboo
silicone
recycled paper
In a study, they found high levels of
microplastics in the samples from a gym.
Using Raman spectroscopy, they identified
most of the particles as polyamides, likely
from nylon sports apparel.
likely
from water and soda bottles.
likely
from nylon sports apparel.
likely
from the wooden basketball courts.
likely
from the glass windows.
