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Imago via ZUMA Press
This story was written by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Microplastic pollutionFor the first time, the particles were found deep within the lungs of living humans. The particles were found almost in all of the samples that were analyzed.
The scientists said microplastic pollution was now ubiquitous across the planet, making human exposure unavoidable and meaning “there is an increasing concern regarding the hazards” to health.
The samples were taken from 13 patients who had undergone surgery. Microplastics were found in 11 cases. The most common microplastics were found in polypropylene (used in plastic packaging and pipes) and PET (used in bottles). Two previous studies revealed similar levels of microplastics in lung tissue collected during autopsies.
People were already known Inhale the tiny particlesConsume them as well as use them Food and water. Workers exposed to high levels of microplastics are also known to have developed disease.
Microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time in March, showing the particles can travel around the bodyAnd may lodge in organs. The impact on health is still unknown. Researchers are concerned. Human cells are damaged by microplastics in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
“We did not expect to find the highest number of particles in the lower regions of the lungs, or particles of the sizes we found,” said Laura Sadofsky at Hull York medical school in the UK, a senior author of the study. “It is surprising as the airways are smaller in the lower parts of the lungs and we would have expected particles of these sizes to be filtered out or trapped before getting this deep.”
“This data provides an important advance in the field of air pollution, microplastics, and human health,” she said. The information could be used in laboratory experiments to evaluate health impacts.
The research has been accepted. Publication by the journal Science of the Total EnvironmentIt took samples of healthy lung tissue and placed them next to the surgical targets. It used spectroscopy to identify which type of plastic and analysed particles as small as 0.003mm. It also used control specimens to account for background contamination.
A 2021 study Brazil on autopsy samples found microplastics in 13 of the 20 people analyzed, whose average age was higher than those assessed by Sadofsky’s study. The most common particle was polyethylene, which is found in plastic bags. The researchers concluded: “Deleterious health outcomes may be related to … these contaminants in the respiratory system following inhalation.”
A US study of lung cancer patientsIn 1998, more than 100 samples contained plastic and plant fibers (such a cotton). The fibers were found in 97 percent of cancerous tissue samples and 83 percent in non-cancerous tissue samples.
Large amounts of plastic waste end up in the environment. Microplastics are contaminating the entire planet. Mount Everest summit to the deepest oceans. In the, microplastics were found. Placentas in pregnant womenThey are rapid in passing through the lungs of pregnant rats Into the hearts, brains, and other organsThe fetuses.
A recent Review assessed cancer risk and concluded: “More detailed research on how micro- and nanoplastics affect the structures and processes of the human body, and whether and how they can transform cells and induce carcinogenesis, is urgently needed, particularly in light of the exponential increase in plastic production.”
