Microplastics, one of the major sources of plastic pollution, have been found in human blood for the first time. A team of scientists from the Netherlands found microscopic particles of plastic in 80 per cent of the test samples
French scientist and member of the association “4P Shore & Seas” Edgar Dusacre shows microplastic waste collected on the Aquitaine coast on the beach of Contis, southwestern France, on August 17, 2020. AFP
Microplastics, one of the major sources of plastic pollution, have been found in human blood for the first time. A team of scientists from the Netherlands found microscopic particles of plastic in 80 per cent of the test samples.
With the environment already riddled with plastic pollution from Mount Everest to food and water for consumption, the presence of microplastics in human blood is a cause for concern.
According to a report by The Guardian, the impact on health is unknown as of yet, but researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory.
Let’s take a look at what is microplastic and what does the latest research say:
What is microplastic
A piece of plastic that is smaller than 0.2 inch, or 5mm, in diametre can be called a microplastic.
Plastics of various kinds make for one of the largest causes of pollution on the planet.
Not just the visible plastic pollution in water bodies, garbage dumps and air, but the tiny particles have been found in food, water, as well as in the lungs.
A study last year found microplastic in faeces of babies and adults.
Microplastics are released into the environment from the breakage of bigger plastic objects or are manufactured to be used in cosmetics and beauty products.
Also read: From mountains to oceans: Plastic pollution exceeds Earth’s safe limit
Plastic products like bottles, bags, fishing nets, and food packaging break down into microplastics and eventually find their way into the soil, water and the air.
It is even found in toothpastes/ If the ingredients of a toothpaste mentions polyethylene, it has microplastic in it, usually marketed as “cooling crystals.
Microplastics are a threat to the environment because they are not easily biodegradable.
What does the latest research say
According to The Guardian, the scientists found microplastics in blood samples of 17 out of 22 anonymous donors, all of which were healthy adults.
Half the blood samples had PET plastics that are generally used in drinking bottles, a third of the samples contained polystyrene, which is used for packaging of food and other products.
A quarter of the blood samples had polyethylene, which is used to make plastic carrier bags.
Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, said that the study was the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood.
“But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc. Further studies by a number of groups are already under way, he said, as quoted by The Guardian.
Previous studies have shown that babies that are fed with plastic bottles swallow millions of microplastic particles every day, he said.
The study, published in the journal Environment International, adapted existing techniques to detect and analyse particles as small as 0.0007mm.
With inputs from agencies
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