New Study Reveals Disturbing Finding of Microplastics in Human Blood

New Study Reveals Disturbing Finding of Microplastics in Human Blood

A new study reveals, for the first time, that Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood in almost 80% of the people tested. This is another disturbing discovery in the growing body of literature demonstrating the ubiquitous contamination of the entire planet, and its occupants, from decades of poorly regulated plastics production throughout the world.

Unfathomably massive amounts of plastic waste are dumped into the environment annually and pollute practically every single point on the globe, from the heights of Mount Everest to the deepest depths of the ocean. Microplastics infiltrate the human body through food, water, and simply by breathing. Discovery of microplastics in the blood means that these tiny particles can travel throughout the body and may lodge in any of a number of human organ systems. Microplastics have been demonstrated to cause damage to human cells in the laboratory setting and similarly tiny air pollution particles have already been shown to be able to enter the human body and cause millions of premature deaths annually. Scientists remain deeply concerned about microplastics’ potential to induce cancers.

Half the samples study contained the common PET plastic used in water and other drink bottles. Another third of samples contained polystyrene, commonly used in food packaging and other products, while a quarter of the blood samples contained the type of plastic used in plastic bags. As terrifying as this is, it’s even worse for babies in whom studies have demonstrated microplastic content in infant feces up to 10 times higher than that of adults. Scientific studies have concluded that babies fed with plastic bottles swallow millions of microplastic particles in a single day.

Stringent regulations, or an outright ban on plastics production needs to happen now. If you’d like to become involved in such a movement, you can start here. And if you have reason to believe your health or neighborhood has been damaged from plastics production or use, you should contact an experienced law firm right away to explore potential claims.