A recent study found microplastics in human blood in 80% of the people they randomly tested.
Microplastics, an increasingly alarming threat
For years now, we have unfortunately been finding plastics in every corner of the world, no matter how remote and inhospitable. Whether it's large plastics, such as ghost fishing nets in the oceans; smaller plastics, such as food packaging; or tiny plastic particles, which we call microplasticsoften imperceptible to the human eye.Study finds microplastics in human blood
A Dutch study published in the journal Environment International on 23 March 2022 reveals, after analysing the blood of 22 healthy people, the presence of microplastics in the blood of 80% of the participants (17 out of 22).
Graph 1. Concentration of plastic particles by polymer type in all samples from the 22 donors (duplicates a and b, except for No. 6, 9, 15 and 18). (duplicates a and b, except for No. 6, 9, 15 and 18). All values >LOQ.
The study focused on 5 types of plastics: PET, PS, PE, PP and PMMA. Although many experts took the presence of microplastics in the human body for granted, it is only now that it has been scientifically proven. This has been possible thanks to the application of a new technique capable of tracking microplastics as small as 0.0007 mm.
Of the 22 participants, the highest amount of microplastics in blood was above 12µg/ml.
What is the main source of microplastics found in human blood?
The scope of the study is not precise enough to reveal the precise origin of the microplastics found in our bodies. But we can draw clear hypotheses.
Food and drink packaging can release nanoplastics that we then ingest
Fifty per cent of the blood samples showed traces of PET plastic, a type of plastic used to make beverage bottles. While more than 33% had polystyrene, used for disposable food packaging and many other products.
These figures are quite worrying and at the same time are yet another reason to eliminate the single-use plastic that invades our daily lives. Especially through the purchase of food and drink. The handling and exposure of packaging to high temperatures or radiation can release nanoplastics (particles that cannot be seen by the human eye).
Plastics from the sea straight into our food chain
Data from outside the study also indicate that a large proportion of the microplastics we ingest come from the sea. In recent years, the problem of microplastics and how they were entering the food chain was already being highlighted.
It is estimated that 1 in 4 fish in the sea have plastics inside them, with higher figures for specific species. This is the case with Mediterranean prawns, where 3 out of every 4 prawns have plastic in their digestive organs. Another worrying fact is that after analysing all cooking salts, microplastics have been found in 90% of salt brands.
Microplastics in the air we breathe
We continue with bad news... not only do we ingest microplastics through our food and drink; we also ingest them when we breathe. A study in the UK estimated that a person could ingest between 14,000 and 68,000 plastic particles a year through the air we breathe. This is another reason why living in big cities poses a greater risk to our health.
Alarming news that will lead to more research on the effects of microplastics on humans
Now that a Dutch study has revealed the presence of microplastics in human blood, it will lead to much more research in this area. If the bloodstream that distributes blood throughout our bodies has been able to absorb plastic particles, this would indicate that they could be found in all our organs.
So there are still many unanswered questions: Is our body capable of eliminating microplastics, what effects does it have on our blood cells, what risk does exposure to plastic pose to public health?