New Research
New research to be published in the Environment International journal has shown microplastics in the blood of 80% of the people tested. The study, conducted by Prof Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands is the first time that polymer particles have been found in human blood. The first we knew about this study was when it was announced during the Plastic Health Summit in 2019.
Unknown Implications
Given the ubiquitous nature of microplastics in the atmosphere, our oceans, the most remote parts of the world it and even the water we drink, it was inevitable that we would find plastic in our blood stream. What we now need to do is find out what the implications are to our health. In the blood stream microplastics have the ability to move around our body systems, lodging in organs and tissues where they could potentially cause damage. Whilst there is no evidence that they will cause harm it would be safe to say that they will not be beneficial to out health. We should be concerned and we need to make sure that support further research in this area with a degree of urgency.
