In a stunning report, scientists have found that microplastics not only can travel around the body through human blood, but can even settle in various organs in the body.
Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic that result from the massive amounts of plastic waste dumped in the environment. They’ve been found before in food, water and the feces of babies. They’ve also been found to damage human cells in the laboratory, but this is the first time they’ve been seen in human blood.
Of the samples taken, scientists found that half contained polyethylene terephthalate IPET) plastics, which are most commonly used in drink bottles. A third of the samples contained polystyrene and a fourth contained polyethylene. Polystyrene is generally used in plastic food packaging; polyethylene is in plastic carrier bags.
“Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it’s a breakthrough result,” said Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands … “It is certainly reasonable to be concerned.”
SOURCE: The Guardian March 24, 2022