Plastic pollution is one of the most problematic environmental issues in the modern world. It is responsible for contaminating not only terrestrial ecosystems and human population centers but also both freshwater and saltwater habitats.
For decades, scientific literature has shown that excessive marine plastic debris harms animals and potentially kills them. However, limited data is available when it comes to the material's impact on human health.
This knowledge gap was confirmed by the United Nations in 2019, stating that "there is very little science" of how plastics impact our health. However, a new study earlier this month may finally shed light on the mystery of how plastic materials change or harm the human body.
Plastic Pollution Problem
(Photo : Photo by Sören Funk on Unsplash)
According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the plastic pollution problem involves the accumulation of these materials from their initial purchase until they are thrown away. Every minute, 1 million plastic bottles are bought, while up to 5 trillion plastic bags are used across the globe every year.
The global plastic issue arises from the fact that plastics cannot be fully destroyed. Scientists say that these materials can only be broken down into smaller forms such as microplastics and the smallest of them all, called nanoplastics.
Currently, plastics including microplastics are found everywhere in our natural environment, becoming a part of Earth's fossil record and a sign of the ongoing Anthropocene era, the UNEP says. In this context, experts have provided a name to this new marine microbial habitat, called the "plastisphere."
Microplastics Inside the Body
In a new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives on April 10, researchers found that microplastics inside the body can escape from the gut to "infiltrate" tissues in other organs such as the brain, kidneys, and liver. There is still no scientific consensus on specific medical conditions this phenomenon may cause.
The recent discovery comes after the research team investigated the impacts of microplastics on tissue metabolism in mice, where the small plastic particles were found being translocated from the gut barrier into the animal's systemic circulation.
The research paper, led by academics from the University of Mexico's School of Medicine, asserts that the impacts of mixed microplastics or MP exposure on tissue function through metabolism remains significantly unexplored.
Plastic Health Threat
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the health impact of microplastics on the body, some scientists believe that the presence of plastics, at least microplastics, in the human body is detrimental to one's health. In previous years, other studies found that microplastics can damage cells inside the human body.
In 2022, a study published in the journal Exposure and Health revealed that both microplastics and nanoplastics can enter the human bloodstream, where they permanently reside in our bodies until we die. Scientific evidence also shows that oral inhalation of microplastics or food ingestion is the most common cause of how the particles enter our bodies.
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