10/11/2023 0 Comments Storyo f human body pdfThe EU is already funding research on the impact of microplastic on foetuses and babies, and on the immune system.Ī recent study found that microplastics can latch on to the outer membranes of red blood cells and may limit their ability to transport oxygen. ![]() “We have a right to know what all this plastic is doing to our bodies.” Common Seas, along with more than 80 NGOs, scientists and MPs, are asking the UK government to allocate £15m to research on the human health impacts of plastic. “Plastic production is set to double by 2040,” said Jo Royle, founder of the charity Common Seas. The new research was funded by the Dutch National Organisation for Health Research and Development and Common Seas, a social enterprise working to reduce plastic pollution. “Are the particles retained in the body? Are they transported to certain organs, such as getting past the blood-brain barrier?” And are these levels sufficiently high to trigger disease? We urgently need to fund further research so we can find out.” “The big question is what is happening in our body?” Vethaak said. He said the differences might reflect short-term exposure before the blood samples were taken, such as drinking from a plastic-lined coffee cup, or wearing a plastic face mask. “But this is a pioneering study,” he said, with more work now needed. Vethaak acknowledged that the amount and type of plastic varied considerably between the blood samples. The team used steel syringe needles and glass tubes to avoid contamination, and tested for background levels of microplastics using blank samples. Some of the blood samples contained two or three types of plastic. The new research is published in the journal Environment International and adapted existing techniques to detect and analyse particles as small as 0.0007mm. “We also know in general that babies and young children are more vulnerable to chemical and particle exposure,” he said. “The particles are there and are transported throughout the body.” He said previous work had shown that microplastics were 10 times higher in the faeces of babies compared with adults and that babies fed with plastic bottles are swallowing millions of microplastic particles a day. “It is certainly reasonable to be concerned,” Vethaak told the Guardian. ![]() “But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.” Further studies by a number of groups are already under way, he said. ![]() “Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it’s a breakthrough result,” said Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. ![]() People were already known to consume the tiny particles via food and water as well as breathing them in, and they have been found in the faeces of babies and adults. Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment and microplastics now contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest oceans.
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