Our life is inseparable from plastic, eating, drinking, shopping, traveling… There is always a time to use it.
In addition to convenience, the pollution it brings is also increasingly valued. Some people joke that when human beings die, plastics will still be sleeping on the bottom of the sea.
Not only that, plastic has already been eaten into your body, and what is even more terrifying is that it may have penetrated into various organs in the body through the blood.
“Life Times” interviewed experts to tell you how microplastics enter the body, and how to find out the “invisible plastics” around you.
Microplastics found in human blood for the first time
Recently, in a study published in the authoritative journal “Environment International” in the field of environmental science, a research team led by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands found microplastics in human blood for the first time, which further triggered the impact of microplastics on the human body, and concerns about long-term health effects.
The researchers recruited 22 healthy volunteers to obtain whole blood samples by venipuncture. After ruling out the possibility of contaminated blood samples, quantifiable microplastics were detected in the blood of 17 people, averaging 1.6 micrograms per milliliter of blood.
Among the most common plastics are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Among them, PET, PS and PE accounted for 50%, 36% and 23% respectively.
The researchers say that the length of time microplastics stay in the blood is unknown, and it is scientifically plausible that microplastics travel through the circulatory system to various organs throughout the body.
Previously, a research team from Nanjing University surveyed fecal samples from participants from 11 provinces and cities in China and found that participants who often drank bottled water, ate takeaway food, and worked with dust exposure had more microplastics in their feces, and their bodies elevated levels of microplastics may exacerbate intestinal inflammation.
Where do microplastics come from?
In 2004, British scientists first proposed the concept of “microplastics” in a paper published in the journal “Science”, which is generally considered to be plastic fibers, particles or films with a particle size of less than 5 mm, and some can reach the micron or even nanometer scale.
The “2016 Global Environmental Emerging Issues” report published by the United Nations Environment Programme pointed out that plastic particles in the environment are becoming more and more widely distributed and in increasing numbers, and their traces can be found all over the world, even in the 5,000-meter-deep seabed sediments all detected the presence of microplastics.
Microplastic pollution is diversified, and its sources can be roughly divided into terrestrial and marine sources. Terrestrial microplastics are the main sources, including the following two:
• ‘nascent’ microplastics. Manufactured due to industrial needs, commonly used in cosmetics or cleaning products in daily life, such as abrasives in toothpaste and exfoliating cream, textiles and fiber clothing, etc. These microplastics are discharged into rivers and other water bodies through wastewater treatment plants;
• “Secondary” microplastics. Plastic particles, which are formed by the physical, chemical and biological processes of disintegration and reduction in size of large plastic waste, can enter the ocean directly from coastlines or through rivers and sewage pipes.
In the research mentioned above, the microplastics detected from blood mainly come from various daily necessities: PET is usually used for mineral water bottles, beverage bottles and the outer layer materials of various household appliances; PS is used for food packaging materials; PE Used for packaging films and plastic bags; PP is used for takeaway lunch boxes; PMMA is mostly used for the appearance of electronic equipment and lighting equipment.
Microplastics are hurting you quietly
Microplastics are found in almost every aspect of daily life, and more than 690 species of organisms have been found to have ingested microplastics. All creatures, including humans, are threatened by it.
Gastrointestinal damage
Microplastics can cause varying degrees of damage to the digestive tract of organisms, affecting the reproduction rate and enzyme activity of certain organisms. Microplastics in the environment can also affect the composition of biological communities and nitrogen cycling.
Cause an inflammatory response
Microplastics have been shown in the laboratory to cause inflammation and cellular damage under experimental conditions, according to Dr Alice Horton of the UK’s National Oceanographic Centre.
Destroy the immune system
Microplastics can be transferred through the human gastrointestinal system to the lymphatic circulatory system, absorbed by the unborn baby through the placenta, and absorbed by the body through the lungs, ultimately causing an immune system response that affects the body’s cellular health.
Causes various diseases such as cancer
The international authoritative report “Plastics, Endocrine Disruptors and Their Health Hazards” jointly completed by the American Society of Endocrinology and the International Pollutant Elimination Network pointed out that some chemical substances contained in plastics can disrupt the human endocrine system, causing cancer, diabetes, reproductive disorders. Other diseases can also cause damage to the nervous system of the fetus and children.
How can we “eat” less plastic?
In addition to the plastic products we can directly see, there are some unexpected items that also have hide plastic particles.
Fruits and vegetables and other crops
A joint Chinese-Dutch study found that cracks in the roots of lettuce and wheat crops can absorb microplastics in soil and water, which then spread to edible parts. This means that microplastics may be present in all of our diets, including grains, fruits and vegetables, shellfish, beef and lamb, and dairy products, as they pass through the food chain.
Bottled water
A paper in Environmental Science and Technology in 2019 estimated that the amount of microplastics ingested by humans each year is as high as 39,000 to 52,000, and those who love to drink bottled water may ingest 211,000 microplastics each year.
In addition, the surface of the takeaway cup is coated with a layer of polyethylene, which will break into small particles after degradation, which may be eaten by people.
Tea bag
The tea bag itself may have added plastic, and researchers at McGill University in Canada found that soaking a tea bag in water heated to 95°C could release about 11.6 billion microplastic particles in the cup.
Disposable wipes
In addition to the plastic packaging, the wipes themselves also contain non-biodegradable plastic fibers, which are eventually released into the environment when thrown in the trash or flushed.
Clothing
Plastic can be made into clothing, and when you look at a clothing label, it says “polyester” is plastic. For example, the popular polar fleece is usually made of recycled plastic, which contains a large amount of plastic microfiber components.
Every time clothing made of polyester, polyamide and spandex fibers, such as outdoor gear, sweatshirts and pullovers, is washed, about 700,000 microfibers are lost.
Wash beads & Tablets
Detergents and disinfectants with cleaning effects contain microplastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene, which are the same substance as microbeads banned in cosmetics.
Cigarette butts
When people drop cigarette butts on the ground, they end up in gutters. A single cigarette butt contaminates nearly 3.8 liters of water, some of which comes from plastic (the filters used to make cigarettes).
Air
Plastic particles will be dispersed in the air. For example, microplastics that fall off from clothes due to friction and drying are dispersed in the air and become inhalable dust and enter the human body.
Studies carried out in Paris, France, and Dongguan, China, have revealed the presence of microplastics (mainly fibers) in total atmospheric dust.
If you would like to reduce the harm of plastic to the environment and health, you can consider start the following tips with me:
• Use plastic products rationally without excessive abuse, including straws, plastic bags, disposable water cups, takeaway boxes, etc., and do not throw them away after use;
• If it must be used, try to choose degradable plastic products;
• Do a good job of garbage classification, so that garbage classification and plastic recycling are complementary;
• When buying clothes, choose natural materials such as wool or cotton; when choosing personal care products, pay attention to the ingredient list, and try not to choose those with plastic scrubs.
