Microplastics discovered in the lungs of living people

Microplastics are scattered all over the planet.

Their presence in the human body seems inevitable.

Last month, they were detected for the first time in human blood.

It now appears that they are also present in the bottom of the lungs of living people, according to a recent study relayed by

and BFMTV.

The finding is striking.

The researchers took lung tissue from patients who were scheduled to undergo medical procedures.

Out of thirteen samples taken, eleven of them show the presence of microplastics.

According to analysis, the most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles, says

.

Particles not filtered by the lungs

The size of these particles reached 0.003 millimeters.

“This is surprising because the airways are smaller in the lower parts of the lungs and we would have expected particles of these sizes to be filtered or trapped before reaching this depth”, explains Laura Sadofsky, doctor at the United Kingdom. United Kingdom and lead author of the study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Two previous studies had shown the presence of these substances in the lungs of dead people.

It now remains to determine the impact of the presence of these microplastics in the human body, whether in the blood or the lungs.

Experiments must be set up to measure the dangers.

Planet

Microplastics: These plants could help filter wastewater without poisoning us

Planet

Up to 14 million tonnes of microplastics in the seabed?

• Health

• Planet

• Pollution

• Plastic