We've fouled the food chain and reap what we sow
KENNY STANCIL for Common Dreams
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| A biologist looks at microplastics found in sea species at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research near Athens, Greece on November 26, 2019. (Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images) |
A team of toxicologists found microplastics in nearly 80% of the healthy adult blood samples it analyzed, marking the first time that tiny polymer fragments—measuring less than 5mm in size—have been detected in human blood, The Guardian reported March 24.
Using techniques that allowed them to detect particles as small as 0.0007mm, the scientists, whose research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International, examined blood samples provided by 22 anonymous donors in good health and discovered microplastics in 17 of them.
According to The Guardian, "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—it's a breakthrough result," Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands and expert on the health risks posed by microplastics, told the British newspaper. "But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.," he said, noting that additional studies are in progress.
"It is
certainly reasonable to be concerned," Vethaak continued. "The
particles are there and are transported throughout the body."
The Guardian reported
that as they travel through the body, microplastics "may lodge in
organs," though "the impact on health is as yet unknown."
Nevertheless, "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."
Global plastic
pollution—recently characterized as a life-threatening
crisis by the Environmental Investigation Agency, a United
Kingdom-based nonprofit—is so pervasive that minuscule polymer particles now
contaminate every corner of planet Earth, from the tallest mountain peaks to
the deepest parts of the ocean and
the most remote islands.
The
overproduction of virgin plastics and rapid and widespread accumulation of
plastic waste persists, British Green Party parliamentarian Natalie Bennett
lamented on social media, despite society's ignorance of its full consequences
for public health.
It has already been established that people ingest microplastics while eating, drinking, and breathing, as scientists have discovered the tiny particles in human feces. A study published last year found that the poop of infants—many of whom are frequently fed with plastic bottles that increase their exposure to toxins—contained microplastics at a concentration 10 times higher than adults.
In general, "babies and young children are more vulnerable to chemical and particle exposure," Vethaak confirmed on Thursday. "That worries me a lot."
The amount and type of microplastics found in the blood samples varied widely, said Vethaak, who suggested that such results could be a reflection of the different types of everyday products that test subjects used before donating blood.
"This is a
pioneering study," he added, calling for swift follow-up research.
"The big
question is what is happening in our body?" Vethaak said. "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."
The United
Nations warned last
year that plastic pollution in the world's waterways is projected to more than
double this decade and nearly triple by 2040 if governments fail to
prevent fossil fuel and petrochemical companies from expanding the production of
single-use plastics, which they have plans to do even though it would
exacerbate the climate emergency and biodiversity destruction.
At the
conclusion of the U.N. Environment Assembly earlier this month, 175 nations agreed to
develop a legally binding global treaty to curb plastic pollution, though they
will have to contend with the United States and the U.K.—the world's biggest
per-capita plastic polluters and opponents of
previous deals.
Last summer, a
Greenpeace investigation revealed that
the Biden administration was still allowing Karissa Kovner, a senior policy
advisor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to lead the agency's work
on chemicals even though, under former President Donald Trump, she appeared to
side with oil and chemical industry giants eager to undermine the Swiss
government's push to restrict the production of a certain microplastic.
