Scientists have warned us for years about the proliferation of microplastics in the environment, but no one could have anticipated what a new study has revealed: Microplastics in human blood. Fears they will lodge in organs.
Microplastics overwhelming the environment
From the highest points on earth, such as the summit of Mount Everest, to the deepest parts of the ocean, such as the Mariana trench, scientists have been recording huge amounts of plastic waste in the environment.
Every year, roughly 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations, according to National Geographic.
It is estimated that three-quarters of plastic waste isn’t recycled and reenters the environment, polluting oceans and putting marine animals at risk, while causing damage to Earth’s ecosystem, according to the plastic waste complete guide by the Westminster government of the UK. Plastic takes centuries to degrade.
The big problem is that, within this load degradation, plastic breaks into smaller and smaller pieces, making it more easily swallowed by aquatic life.
What defines microplastic and what are its dangers?
The technical definition of a microplastic is any plastic particles that are less than five millimeters across, about 0.19 of an inch.
A significant threat of microplastics that many people aren’t aware of is that they carry a range of contaminants, including harmful organic chemicals, carcinogenic properties, as well as trace metals. These can leach from the plastic surface once they are inside the body. Experts are concerned they could also be mutagenic, meaning they can damage DNA, according to the World Economic Forum.
Microplastics found in human blood for the first time
A new study made a frightening discovery: Microplastics have been detected in human blood for the first time. And researchers admit that the long-term consequences of microplastics in human bodies “are not yet known.”
The new research was published by a team of Dutch scientists in the journal Environment International and adapted existing techniques to detect and analyze particles as small as 0.0007mm.
The researchers examined blood from 22 volunteers. Of that group, 17 volunteers, 77%, had “quantifiable” microplastics in their blood, Sky News reported.
Of the plastics detected in the blood, the most common type was PET, which is a plastic used in making drink bottles. Half of the blood contained this type of plastic.
Two other common types of plastic were detected in the blood as well. Polystyrene, widely used in food packaging, was found in 36% of the blood samples. Polyethylene, used in packaging films and bags, was found in 23% of blood samples.
Babies swallowing millions of plastic particles daily
Scientists said previous research, that examined the feces of babies for microplastics, found that microplastics were 10 times higher in babies compared with adults, determining that babies fed with plastic bottles are consuming millions of microplastic particles daily, the Guardian reported.
Types of microplastics
There are five types of microplastics in the environment, according to waterkeeper.ca. They are:
1. Fibers. Scientists estimate 71% of the total microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes comes from microfibers. One of the most common ways these get into waterways is when we wash our clothes, and they make their way from machines, draining into the environment. Wastewater treatment plants fail to filter out 40% of microfibers.
2. Microbeads. These are non-biodegradable plastic particles found in many types of personal hygiene products, such as facial cleansers and toothpaste. One tube of toothpaste can contain 300,000 microbeads. Fish and other aquatic species mistake them for food. Countries around the world are starting to ban their usage.
3. Nurdles. Nurdles are small, pre-production plastic pellets used in manufacturing plastic goods. These also get into waterways where aquatic species mistake them for food.
4. Foam. The most prominent is Styrofoam, which has limited recycling options, and breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. It is unknown how long it takes to break down, experts guess 500 to 1 million years.
5. Fragments. These are smaller pieces of plastic that break off of larger ones. Over time, UV radiation from the sun breaks fragments into smaller and smaller pieces.
