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Business News/ News / World/  Microplastics discovered deep in lungs of living people for first time. Details here
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Microplastics discovered deep in lungs of living people for first time. Details here

Tiny particles of plastics were detected in human blood for the first time in March
  • Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment and can be found in marine animals to drinking water
  • A 2018 study had found plastics in stool samples, after feeding subjects in their regular diet packaged in plastics (AFP)Premium
    A 2018 study had found plastics in stool samples, after feeding subjects in their regular diet packaged in plastics (AFP)

    Days after discovering microplastics in human blood, researchers have now found the plastic particles stuck in the lungs of living people for the very first time. 

    The research, done at Hull York Medical School in England and published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, suggests that human exposure to plastics has become unavoidable to the extent that we are not breathing them. 

    “Microplastics have previously been found in human cadaver autopsy samples. We did not expect to find the highest number of particles in the lower regions of the lungs, or particles of the sizes we found,"  said Dr Laura Sadofsky, a senior lecturer in respiratory medicine and the paper's lead author.

    "This is surprising as the airways are smaller in the lower parts of the lungs, and we would have expected particles of these sizes to be filtered out or trapped before getting this deep into the lungs," Sadofsky added.

    For the study, researchers collected samples from tissue removed from 13 patients undergoing surgery and microplastics were found in 11 cases.

    The researchers analysed particles down to 0.003mm in size and used spectroscopy to identify the type of plastic. They also used control samples to account for the level of background contamination.

    The most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles.

    Microplastics in human blood

    Tiny particles of plastics were detected in human blood for the first time in March. 

    The study had found that 17 out of the 22 healthy people the researchers took samples from had quantifiable amounts of plastic in their blood.

    A 2018 study had found plastics in stool samples, after feeding subjects in their regular diet packaged in plastics. 

    Microplastics are ubiquitous in the environment and can be found in marine animals to drinking water.

    Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year and at least 14 million tons end up in the ocean where they can be ingested by animals and risk entering the human food supply chain, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

    Some materials can take centuries to break down, and growing concerns about their pollutive impacts have spurred bans on single-use plastic bags.

    But the pervasive presence of synthetic products in modern life – from water bottles to takeaway containers and clothing – underscore the challenges of regulating and limiting their use.

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    Published: 07 Apr 2022, 07:19 PM IST
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