Plastics in our bodies could be wreaking havoc on our health. We still do not know, but here is a clear warning for the first time.
“There is a significant quantum of microplastics in our bloodstream,” finds a study conducted by Dutch researchers.
The study involving blood samples of 22 healthy people tested them for five kinds of plastics: Polypropylene, Polystyrene, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Polyethylene, and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Alarmingly, they found that 77 percent of them—17 out of the 22 people—had a measurable quantum of plastics in their blood. Again, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used in our bottles and packaging, and Polystyrene used in household plastics were prominent.
Microplastics originate from the withering of larger plastics. Everyday plastics and even textile products made of polyester, nylon, and acrylic are sources of microplastics, which percolate into terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. That means they are present everywhere.
These microplastics get ingested into our human bodies through food, water, and air that we inhale. Several studies point to microplastics in ocean beds and even in the mountains far away from plastic contamination. So they get easily transported and biomagnify themselves.
However, the degree to which they bioaccumulate within humans is not known yet. Likewise, the health effects of microplastics present in human bodies are yet to be understood.
In such a scenario, the study’s results are a warning sign. Perhaps, in all likelihood, the prevalence of microplastics in our bloodstream could be a leading cause of many health ailments.
Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, says, “This is the first time we have actually been able to detect and quantify microplastics in human blood.”
He added, “This is proof that we have plastics in our body—and we shouldn’t…Where is it going in your body? Excreted? Or is it retained in certain organs, accumulating maybe, or is it even able to pass the blood-brain barrier?”
So clearly, there is a possibility that Microplastics are finding their way to move around and settle in various organs of the human body.
Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, and Common Seas, a UK-based group working on minimizing plastic pollution, have co-funded this study.
Reference: The Guardian