Many of us have plastic dust flowing through our veins.
On average, 1.6 micrograms of plastic material were measured for every milliliter of blood, with the highest concentration being just over 7 micrograms.
The researchers couldn't give a precise breakdown of the particle sizes due to the limitations of the testing methods. It's safe to presume, however, that smaller particles closer to the 700 nanometer limit of the analysis would be easier for the body to take in than larger particles exceeding 100 micrometers.On one hand, there's still so much we just don't know about the chemical and physical effects of tiny plastic materials nestled among our cells.
hint at some seriously concerning effects, but interpreting their results within a human health context is far from straight forward., with plastic waste entering our oceans set to double by 2040. As all of those discarded shoes, forks, bread tags, steering wheels and chocolate wrappers break up, a greater concentration of microplastics will gradually find its way into our bloodstream.
If it's the dose that makes a poison, it's possible we might cross a line at some point where relatively harmless traces of styrene and PET could start to have some alarming effects on the way our cells grow. Especially during development. "We also know in general that babies and young children are more vulnerable to chemical and particle exposure," Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam,