According to the Guardian, experts at Vrije University Amsterdam have found microplastics in human blood for the first time, and the foreign particles were found in 80% of subjects.
This means that human bodies are being taken over by "microplastics". This may not be good news. In recent years, the amount of "microplastics" or "plastic waste" has been increasing, and so has the impact on humans.
This isn't the first time microplastics have been found in the human body. In 2020, the Environment International pointed out that microplastics have been found even in the "placenta" of pregnant women, which is quite frightening, meaning that a person may be at risk from "microplastics" before they are even born.
How scary is the discovery of microplastics in human blood for the first time, and how significant will it be?
Microplastics Have Been Found in Human Blood for the First Time
The results of this study are actually a little bit alarming, considering that "microplastics" have moved into human's blood. If a large amount of "microplastics" are accumulated in human blood, there may be problems in the flow of blood, thus affecting the "regeneration" capability of blood, etc. These may be the effects of some chain effects.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, with the development of technology, human demand for a variety of plastic products is increasing, and a large number of plastic products have been produced.
As the natural degradation of plastic waste is very slow, there has been a massive accumulation of plastic waste on earth.
Back in 2016, the survey results led by Kyushu University and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology showed that plastic debris was floating in the Antarctic far away from human beings.
Source: theguardian.com
Microplastics including polyester, acrylic, nylon and polypropylene, were also found in snow and water on Mount Everest in 2019, reaching an altitude of 27,700 feet (8,440 meters).
Source: theguardian.com
In 2017, research from Newcastle University showed that microplastics have been ingested by crustaceans at a depth of about 11km in the Pacific Ocean. As you can imagine, microplastics are already covering many corners on earth.
In the above study, researchers found that there were microplastics in bodies of 17 out of 22 subjects.
Half of the blood samples contained PET plastic (commonly used to make drinks bottles), a third contained polystyrene (used to make packaging for food and other products), and a quarter contained polyethylene (used to make plastic bags).
Marine Life Is Being Driven to Death by Microplastics
The fact that microplastics are found in human blood means that it may have formed a pattern similar to that of a "food chain".
Plastic waste degrades slowly in the ocean. When this happens, algae and microbes slowly stick to it, releasing volatile compounds that make the plastic smell like the food that many marine creatures eat.
Do Microplastics Harm Humans?
The effects of plastic in human blood have been studied since the early days.
It has been proposed that microplastics smaller than 10μm in diameter may penetrate cell membranes and enter all organs of the human body through the blood circulation, which may have an impact on the whole body.
As microplastics are fairly stable in the body, long-term accumulation can lead to blood vessel embolism. If it enters the circulation through the blood and accumulates in the kidneys or other organs, it may induce a stress response and cause organ or tissue damage.
Conclusion
Overall, the discovery of microplastics in human blood for the first time could have more knock-on effects, which is pretty scary. If the human body is piled up with plastic waste, it is likely to have a reduced lifespan, at least, which is a hazard.
It's strongly suggested to use an air purifier to prevent microplstics smaller than 10μm in diameter from entering our body and cause damage to us, since some powerful air purifiers have effective air filters which can collect particles as small as 0.3 microns.