tjcanno t1_j69elm9 wrote
Reply to comment by Hot-Specialist-6824 in UV light from the sun slowly breaks down plastics on the ocean’s surfaces: researchers calculate that about two percent of visibly floating plastic may disappear from the ocean surface in this way each year by giuliomagnifico
Please cite scientific studies that back those claims up. Not just arm waving scaremongering.
scaleofthought t1_j69iivp wrote
... do you really need a 55 page scientific study that you'll never read to logically explain that UV light doesn't make plastic magically vanish?
Or uh.... Can we just assume within reason that plastic just doesn't disappear because the weather was good, and rather UV light makes plastic brittle, causing it to break down into micro plastics?
tjcanno t1_j6a5e36 wrote
You totally misinterpret my question. Do you have any studies to show that when the polymer breaks down in UV that the products are poisonous?
I am not questioning that UV breaks down the polymer. I have seen it firsthand.
DaDutchBoyLT1 t1_j69ir68 wrote
A basic understanding of material science.
tjcanno t1_j6a4x8f wrote
As the polymers decompose in the UV, they break down to pieces as small as monomers. Do bacteria consume them? Naturally occurring microbes break down hydrocarbons in the ocean. It is reasonable to expect that something similar happens with polymers and monomers. So can anyone point to any research on that? Why is it assumed that the products of the UV degradation are poisonous?
atetuna t1_j6a32xh wrote
What's the point when you already ignore the scientific studies that support climate change?
tjcanno t1_j6a54n4 wrote
Not true. And what does UV degradation of polymers have to do with climate change?
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