“It is very worrying” .. Finding plastic particles in human blood

Microplastics - small pieces of plastic less than 0.2 inches (5 mm) in diameter - have been found in human blood for the first time.

Scientists in the Netherlands took blood samples from 22 healthy adult donors and analyzed them for particles as small as 0.00002 of an inch.

The researchers found that 17 out of 22 volunteers (77.2%) had microplastic particles in their blood - a finding described as 'extremely concerning'.

Microplastics have been found in the brain, intestines, placenta of unborn children and feces of adults and infants, but this has not been done before from blood samples.

"Our study is the first indication that there are polymer molecules in our blood - it's an astonishing result," study author Professor Dick Fitak at Vrije University Amsterdam in the Netherlands was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

But we have to expand the scope of the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers evaluated, and so on.”

The study, published in Environment International, tested five types of plastics - polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The researchers found that 50 percent of the blood samples contained polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

This was the most common type of plastic in the samples.

PET is a clear, strong and lightweight plastic that is widely used for packaging food and beverages, especially soft drinks, juices and water of the right size.

Meanwhile, just over a third (36%) contained polystyrene, which is used for packaging and storage, while nearly a quarter (23%) contained polyethylene, from which plastic bags are made.

Only one person (5%) had polymethyl methacrylate, and no blood samples had polypropylene.

Alarmingly, the researchers found up to three different types of plastic in a single blood sample.

The differences between those who had plastic particles in their blood and those who did not, may be due to exposure to plastic just before the blood samples were taken.

So, one volunteer who tested positive for microplastics in their blood may have recently drank from a plastic-lined coffee cup.

The health effects of eating microplastics are currently unclear, although a study last year claimed that they can cause cell death and allergic reactions in humans.

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