Millions of tons of plastic make its way into the environment and break down into small pieces.
Paris:
From the depths of the ocean to mountain tops, humans have littered the planet with tiny bits of plastic. We have absorbed these microplastics into our bodies – with undetermined effects.
Images of plastic pollution have become familiar: a turtle suffocating from a shopping bag, washed-up water bottles on beaches, or the monstrous “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” of floating debris.
Millions of tons of plastic produced each year, mainly from fossil fuels, makes its way into the environment and decomposes into smaller and smaller pieces.
“We did not imagine 10 years ago that there could be such tiny microplastics, which are invisible to the naked eye, and they were everywhere around us,” said Jean-François Ghiglione, a researcher at the Laboratory of Microbial Oceanography in France. Told.
“And we could not yet imagine finding them in the human body”.
Now scientific studies are detecting microplastics in some human organs – including “the lungs, spleen, kidneys and even the placenta,” Ghiglione told AFP.
In these particles present in the air, especially in microfibers from synthetic fabrics, it may not come as a shock.
“We know there’s microplastic in the air, we know it’s all around us,” said Laura Sadofsky of Hull York Medical School, UK.
His team found polypropylene and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) in lung tissue, which identify fibers from synthetic fabrics.
“What was surprising to us was how deep it was in the lungs and the size of those particles,” she told AFP.
In March, another study reported the first traces of PET found in blood.
Given the small sample of volunteers, some scientists say it’s too early to draw conclusions, but there are concerns that if the plastics are in the bloodstream they could be carried to all organs.
Breathing in Plastic for Years
In 2021, researchers found microplastics in both maternal and fetal placental tissue, expressing “great concern” over the potential consequences on fetal development.
But anxiety doesn’t equate to a proven risk.
“If you ask a scientist if there are any negative effects, he will say ‘I don’t know’,” said Bart Koelman, Professor of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality at Wageningen University.
“This is potentially a huge problem, but we don’t have scientific evidence to positively confirm what the effects are, if any.”
One hypothesis is that microplastics may be responsible for some of the syndromes that undermine human health.
While scientists have only recently identified its presence in the body, it is likely that humans have been eating, drinking and breathing plastic for years.
In 2019, a startling report by environmental charity WWF estimated that people are eating and breathing five grams of plastic per week – enough to make a credit card.
Koelman, who opposes that study’s methodology and results, calculated that the amount is closer to a grain of salt.
“In a lifetime, a grain of salt per week is still enough,” he told AFP.
While health studies on humans have not yet been developed, toxicity in some animals reinforces concerns.
“The tiny microplastics invisible to the naked eye have harmful effects on all the animals we’ve studied in marine environments or on land,” Ghiglione said.
The array of chemicals found in these ingredients, including dyes, stabilizers, flame retardants, can affect growth, metabolism, blood sugar, blood pressure and even reproduction, he said.
The researcher said there should be a “precautionary” approach, urging consumers to reduce the number of plastic-packaged products they buy, especially bottles.
Earlier this year, the United Nations began the process of developing an internationally binding treaty to tackle the global plastics crisis.
It has warned that the world is facing a pollution crisis to match the biodiversity and climate crisis.
While the health effects of plastic are not known, scientists do know the effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution, which experts from the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health have estimated to cause 6.7 million premature deaths in 2019 Went.
About 460 million tonnes of plastic were used in 2019, which is double what it was 20 years ago. Less than 10 percent was recycled.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said last month that annual production of fossil fuel-based plastics would reach 1.2 billion tons by 2060, with more than a billion tons of waste.
“People can’t stop breathing, so even if you change your eating habits, you’ll still inhale them,” Koelman said.
“They’re everywhere.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)