How dangerous are plastic baby bottles or other microparticles?
A new study has detected microplastics in human blood for the first time. According to the Study by the Free University of Amsterdam apparently plastic in the blood. The study was the first evidence that plastic particles can enter the human bloodstream. Earlier evidence of this came from laboratory experiments. The current study shows that people absorb microplastics from their environment in everyday life and that these amounts can be measured in the blood.
The total concentration of plastic particles in the blood of the 22 subjects averaged 1.6 µg/ml, which corresponds to one teaspoon of plastic in 1,000 liters of water (ten large bathtubs).
A quarter of those tested had no detectable levels of plastic particles of any kind in their blood.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene and polymers of styrene were the most common types of plastic found in the blood samples, followed by poly(methyl methacrylate). Polypropylene was also analyzed, but the concentrations were too low for an accurate measurement.
The researchers are now asking to what extent the plastic particles can get into organs such as the brain.
How dangerous is the microplastic in the body?
One of the authors, Heather Leslie, explains: “We have now proven that our bloodstream, our life flow, so to speak, contains plastic.”
And her colleague Marja Lamoree adds: “This dataset is the first of its kind and needs to be expanded to gain insights into how widespread plastic pollution is in the human body and how harmful it can be. With these insights we can determine whether exposure to plastic particles poses a public health hazard.”
In summary, it says in the in SCIENCE DIRECT published study: Determining whether exposure to plastic particles poses a risk to public health requires an understanding of human exposure to these substances and the associated hazards.
worry about babies
The researchers warn about THE GUARDIAN. ‘Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – this is a groundbreaking result,’ says Prof Dick Vethaak, ecotoxicologist at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. “But we need to expand the research and increase the sample size, the number of polymers studied, etc. Other studies by different groups are already underway.
“It’s certainly reasonable to be concerned. The particles are there and are being transported throughout the body.” Previous work has shown that the proportion of microplastics in infants’ faeces is ten times higher than that of adults, and that babies fed plastic bottles ingest millions of microplastic particles every day.
“We also know that infants and young children in general are more vulnerable to exposure to chemicals and particles,” he said. “That worries me a lot.”
“A person eats a credit card a week”
He explains the vast amounts of plastic people absorb STANDARD with a powerful headline, “One person eats a credit card a week.” According to a study by the Medical University of Vienna, an average of 5 grams of plastic enter the human gastrointestinal tract per person per week – and that’s how much a credit card weighs!
Researchers in Asia came to similar conclusions last year.
Apparently it is advisable to do without plastic bottles. The STANDARD writes: “According to a study, anyone who drinks the recommended 1.5 to two liters of water per day from plastic bottles ingests around 90,000 plastic particles per year in this way alone. Depending on the geographical location, anyone who uses tap water can Reduce quantity to 40,000.”
In addition, researchers demonstrated widespread contamination of mineral water with xenohormones that are washed out of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles. “Xenohormones exhibit strong estrogenic activity that can cause cancer in the body.”
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