Discovery of microplastics in people raises difficult questions about health implications
Scientists keep finding tiny polymer particles in lungs, blood and placentas – but what does that mean means for people’s health?
Microplastic has been detected in people’s lungs for the first time. The lung tissue samples were taken from 11 individuals who had surgery at a hospital in Hull, UK.
The discovery adds to concerns about microplastic contaminants in the environment, but it was not a surprise to researchers in the field. In 2021, Brazilian pathologists found polymeric particles and fibres in lung tissue from 13 of 20 adults undergoing autopsy in São Paulo. And in February, researchers in the Netherlands reported plastic pollutants in the blood of healthy volunteers.