5 January 2023 – We know that plastic pollution is a big problem, but many people probably don’t know that microplastics have even found their way into our bodies.
Plastic floating in our oceans, lying on our beaches, drifting in our rivers and streams, being thrown at the sides of our roads, finding its way into birds’ nests and polluting our countryside. Plastic is everywhere we look.
But there is also plastic that we cannot see, so-called microplastics. These are tiny plastic particles (smaller than five millimetres) that are used in cosmetics. But they also come off clothes when we wash them and are then called microfibres.
When plastic bottles or cutlery is exposed to the sun or ocean waves, they will break down into tiny pieces, which are called secondarymircoplastics.
And these dinky plastic particles can get everywhere, even into our bodies. Several studies have found new evidence for this in the past year.
Microplastics In Our Bodies
Scientists have known for a while that these small plastic particles have entered our bodies. Research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2019 has shown that on average an adult consumes an estimated 300 to 600 microplastics per day.
More recently, in 2022, a study conducted by the Medical University of Vienna suggested that humans eat on average five grams of microplastics every week.
So we know that we ingest these microplastics via food and water. But in March last year scientists from the UK and the Netherlands have detected micro- and nanoplastics in human blood for the first time.
In an astonishing 80% of the 22 tested blood samples, researchers found microplastics. In 50% of the contaminated samples PET plastic was found. This type of plastic is used in drinks bottles.
In a third of the samples that contained microplastics, polystyrene was found, which is commonly used for packaging. And in 25% of the samples scientists found polyethylene, a type of plastic which is used to make carrier bags.
The fact that these microplastics are in our blood is concerning, as it means that the plastic particles are able to travel around our body and reach our organs.
What impact the presence of these tiny plastic pieces will have on our health is not yet known. However, in laboratory tests researchers have found that microplastics can damage human cells, so knowing that they are also in our blood is very worrying.
The big question is what is happening in our body? Are the particles retained in the body? Are they transported to certain organs, such as getting past the blood-brain barrier? And are these levels sufficiently high to trigger disease? We urgently need to fund further research so we can find out.
Prof Dick Vethaak, Ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
In another study conducted in 2022, scientists of the University of Hull discovered microplastics in lung tissue of living human beings for the first time.
The researchers were surprised to find that the highest number of plastic particles was found in the lower parts of the lungs, because the airways are smaller into that region of the lungs. They also found plastic pieces that were bigger than expected, which begs the question of how they got there.
We Even Grow Plastic Food
Another way plastic can get into our bodies is via food and research has shown that there is even plastic in the food we grow.
The Environmental Working Group has conducted an analysis of US farmland in 2022 to assess the impact of using sewage sludge. This is a by-product of the cleaning process of wastewater, which is expensive to dispose of but also rich in nutrients.
It is used as an organic fertiliser in the US as well as in Europe and the UK. The analysis of the environmental non-profit group has shown that just under 20 million acres of farmland have been contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
These are substances that are found in plastic and that don’t break down unless under specific conditions.
In Europe, around 40% of farmland is spread yearly with sewage sludge, pumping between 86 trillion and 710 trillion microplastic particles on the soil every year, according to a study by the University of Cardiff.
In the UK, between 500 and 1,000 microplastic particles are spread over farmland every year, the study said. The tiny plastic pieces are washed away and reach waterways. But they can also leak toxins into the soil, which can contaminate the food we grow.
But even the microplastics themselves make it into our vegetables and fruits. This has been shown by a study in 2020 that tested these food itmes in supermarkets in Catania in Sicily, Italy.
Apples and carrots had the highest amount of these plastic particles. It is thought that they are absorbed through cracks in the roots of the plants.
All these studies show one thing, we have to stop producing plastic, which seems a huge challenge. Especially because it is predicted that the plastic production will double by 2040.
That’s why we all need to look at reducing our reliance on this material and try to rid our homes and lives of unnecessary plastic.
