They found microplastics in human blood for the first time

Microplastics are small pieces of plastic less than 0.2 inches (5 mm) in diameter, which usually occur as shedding or waste from materials that are disposed of without proper treatment. For the first time, microplastics have been found in human blood, according to Dutch research that found tiny particles in 77% of study participants.

Previous research had already detected microplastics in remote places on the planet, such as the Arctic Circle or Everest, but also in the stomachs of sharks or penguins and in human feces and placenta. Now, the recent study from the Netherlands shows for the first time that they can also be found in the bloodstream of people.

The study was able to detect microplastics as small as 0.0007 mm, which can enter the body through inhalation of airborne particles or ingestion, either in food or plastic containers, tableware and cutlery.

Researchers Heather Leslie and Marja Lamoree, from the Free University of Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit), are responsible for this work, who find that tiny pieces of plastic from our living environment can be absorbed into the human bloodstream. The scientists found particles in 17 of 22 blood samples, and the most common ones came from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the plastic used for beverage bottles and food packaging.

The results are part of the Immunoplast project and were published in the scientific journal Environment International. To reach its conclusions, the research team developed an analytical method to establish the trace level of micro and nanoplastic particles in human blood. The method was applied to the blood of 22 anonymous donors and examined for the presence of five different polymers, the building blocks of five common plastic types, including PET, polypropylene and polystyrene. The degree of presence of each of the polymers in the blood was also determined.

The overall concentration of plastic particles in the blood of the 22 donors averaged 1.6 micrograms per milliliter, which is comparable to one teaspoon of plastic in 1,000 liters of water.

Only 23% of the donors tested had no detectable amounts of plastic particles of any kind. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene, and styrene polymers were the most common types of plastic found in blood samples, followed by polymethylmethacrylate; polypropylene was also tested, but concentrations were too low for accurate measurement.

Dr. Dick Vethaak, co-author of the study, acknowledged that research was a first step and should be expanded to a larger sample. “Much more research is needed to understand what it means. We know that plastic is in our body, but where does it go and what does it do? ”, said the researcher.

The study is the first in the world to evaluate the presence of microplastics in the blood, and Dr. Vethaak indicated that the results were expected given the ubiquity of plastics and pointed out that consumers could avoid plastic packaging whenever possible and, in particular, avoid heating food in plastic containers, to mitigate their risks.

The next step is to know the possible ease with which these particles pass from the bloodstream to tissues, for example in organs such as the brain. Lead researcher Heather Leslie detailed that “we have now shown that our bloodstream, our river of life so to speak, has plastic.”

“This dataset is the first of its kind and needs to be expanded to understand the extent of plastic pollution in the human body, and how harmful it can be. With this knowledge, we will be able to determine whether exposure to plastic particles poses a threat to public health,” the researchers added. This research has been funded by the international NGO Common Seas and the ZonMW Microplastics and Health program.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned a few months ago that plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems has grown considerably in recent years and expects that double by 2030, with “dire consequences for health, economy, biodiversity and climate”. In addition, he stressed that recycling is not enough and denounced the “false solutions that are being given” to this problem.

UNEP called the current pollution of the planet caused by plastic a “global crisis” and proposed that rapid and coordinated action be taken to alleviate this problem, because “there is an urgent need to reduce global production of plastic and plastic waste in the environment.”

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