Found microplastics in unexpected places

From the depths of the ocean to the top of a mountain, there is no place that is free from human plastic waste. We ourselves also absorb microplastic particles into the body, while not fully grasping the effects on health.

Images of plastic pollution seem to have become familiar: A turtle suffocated by plastic bags, water bottles washed up on the beach, or the "Pacific Garbage Island" area with pieces of plastic. floating.

Millions of tons of plastic produced every year, mostly from fossil fuels, are released directly into the environment and break down into tiny plastic fragments.

Microplastics in the human body

Jean-Francois Ghiglione, a researcher at the Laboratory of Microbial Oceanography in France, said: 'We couldn't have imagined 10 years ago there could be so many tiny microplastics, invisible to the naked eye. and everywhere around us. Finding microplastics in the human body is something we couldn't have imagined."

Microplastics have been discovered inside the human body.

More and more scientific studies are finding microplastics appearing in the human body, from "lungs, spleens, kidneys and even the placenta," Ghiglione told AFP.

So it's not too shocking that we breathe these particles in the air, especially from microfibers from synthetic clothing.

Laura Sadofsky, from Hull York Medical School in the UK, said: 'We know that there are microplastics in the air and all around us.

Her team found PP (polypropylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastics in human lung tissue, identified from synthetic fibers.

"What's surprising is how deep it is and and the size of those particles that are in the lungs," she told AFP.

In March 2022, another study demonstrated the first traces of PET in human blood.

With some of the volunteers' blood samples, the scientists say it's too early to draw conclusions, but there's still concern that if the plastic is present in the blood, they could be transported to all organs in the body. body.

In 2021, researchers found microplastics in the placental tissue of both mother and fetus, expressing concern about possible consequences for fetal development.

Bart Koelmans, professor of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, said: 'If you ask a scientist about a negative effect, they will say they don't know. It's likely to be a big deal, but we don't have scientific evidence to confirm the effects, if any."

One theory is that microplastics may be the cause of a number of syndromes that impair human health.

When scientists have determined the presence of microplastics in the body, it is likely that people have been eating, drinking and breathing in plastic for many years.

In 2019, the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF released a shocking report, estimating that humans are ingesting and inhaling 5 g of plastic per week, enough plastic to make a credit card. .

Koelmans, who disputed the methodology and results of that study, calculated the amount to be roughly the size of a grain of salt.

"In a lifetime, a grain of salt a week is fine," he told AFP.

Inhale plastic for many years

While human health studies are still being done, the harmful effects of microplastics on certain animal species are of concern.

The giant Pacific Garbage Island continues to grow in size.

"The microplastics are harmful to all the animals that we have studied in marine or terrestrial environments," Ghiglione said.

He adds that a range of chemicals are found in many materials: dyes, stabilizers, flame retardants, and can affect growth, metabolism, blood sugar, blood pressure and even even reproduction.

He said there should be a way to handle and encourage consumers to reduce the amount of plastic products, especially bottles.

Earlier this year, the United Nations began developing an internationally binding treaty to tackle global plastic pollution.

They warn that the world is facing a pollution crisis to match the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis.

While the health effects of plastic have not been identified, experts from the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health estimate environmental pollution caused 6.7 million premature deaths in 2019.

About 460 million tons of plastic were used in 2019, more than double what it was 20 years earlier. Less than 10% of it is recycled.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says annual production of fossil fuel-based plastics will peak at 1.2 billion tons by 2060, with waste expected to exceed 1 billion tons.

"People can't stop breathing, so even if you change your eating habits, you'll still be inhaling them," says Koelmans.

"Because they're everywhere."