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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMicro plastics found in human blood
Exclusive: The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs.
Thu 24 Mar 2022 07.00 EDT
Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.
The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and microplastics now contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans. People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in, and they have been found in the faeces of babies and adults.
The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.
Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood its a breakthrough result, said Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. 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.
TheGuardian.com
JoeOtterbein
(7,695 posts)....horrible!
Lancero
(2,970 posts)Our species more than deserves whatever medical conditions arise as a result of the plastic now within our blood.
roamer65
(36,738 posts)His song Plastic People comes to mind just about now.
Literally true now.
bucolic_frolic
(42,481 posts)"Silicone on the knee"
Blue Owl
(49,739 posts)Diamond_Dog
(31,528 posts)samplegirl
(11,359 posts)to make a credit card in our blood weekly
Lancero
(2,970 posts)Their won't be much that an embalmer will need to preserve.
Not that this will put them out of business. Cremation won't really be possible, given the amount of toxins released by burning plastics.