“Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it’s a breakthrough result,” says study author Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, to the Guardian’s Damian Carrington. “But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.”
Researchers took blood samples from anonymous, healthy adults, and looked for plastics that were between 700 and 500,000 nanometers (nm). Seven hundred nm is around 140 times smaller than the width of a human hair, writes The Wire Science’s Aathira Perinchery.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly used in disposable water bottles, was the most widely encountered plastic polymer and found in about 50 percent of the donors. The second most common, polystyrene (PS), which is used for food packaging and polystyrene foam, was found in about 36 percent, per the study. This is the main component of Thermocol.
Vethaak tells the Independent’s Harry Cockburn that as a result of his research, he’s been cutting down on his own exposure to plastics by limiting single-use plastics and covering food and drinks to avoid plastics entering that way.
The participants could have been exposed to microplastics through air, water and food, but also through personal care products, like toothpaste or lip gloss, that might have been accidentally ingested, dental polymers, parts of implants or tattoo ink residues, per the authors.
Hence, please avoid exposure th such plastics in your environment.
Take care and God Bless you
Shalom Lifecare Team
Comments