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As far as our bodies are concerned, Planet Earth is now Planet Plastic.
Small plastic particles (microplastics) in the air we breathe, our food and water and many of the products around us contaminate our bloodstream and organs, with potentially serious health consequences.
Particles have previously been linked to lung disease, liver failure and damage to fertility in men.
But now two new studies have shown something more alarming: that even our brains are being invaded by these pieces of plastic, possibly increasing our risk of dementia and Parkinson’s or causing developmental problems in children.
This invisible pest comes in the form of small particles classified as microplastics (as small as 0.0001 mm) and nanoplastics (even smaller particles, as small as one billionth of a centimeter, 0.000000001 cm).
On average, we ingest about 5g of plastic particles each week (the same weight as a credit card), according to a 2019 review by the World Wildlife Fund of data from 50 previous studies. In a year, this adds up to 260 g, or half a pound.
Numerous studies show that many of these plastics can be very toxic.
Research reveals that microplastics can lodge in our organs and cause dangerous inflammation. Microplastics can also carry infectious bacteria and viruses.
Small plastic particles (microplastics) in the air we breathe, our food and water, and many of the products around us contaminate our bloodstream and organs.
Until now, most scientists believed that our brains were safe from plastic invaders because they are protected by the blood-brain barrier, a layer of specialized cells that acts as a filter that keeps out toxic substances and infections.
But the two new studies suggest that microscopic plastic particles are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and reach the brain.
The first study, published in September in the journal Environmental Health, analyzed the brains of 15 people who had died from various causes and found microplastic particles in eight of them, specifically in the olfactory bulbs.
This pair of rounded masses of tissue at the bottom of the brain transmits information about odors from the nose to the brain. Fundamentally, this pathway is a weak point in the blood-brain barrier.
Luís Fernando Amato-Lourenço, an environmental engineer at the University of Berlin who led the study, suggests that inhaled microplastics can cross the blood-brain barrier by flowing into the nasal mucus and mixing with brain fluids around the olfactory bulbs, through small “perforations” in bone structures found in this area.
The olfactory nerve, responsible for transmitting smell information, is located just below the frontal and prefrontal lobes, areas of the brain involved in thinking, judgment, and problem solving.
The most common type of plastic found was polypropylene, used in a wide range of plastic packaging, clothing and home accessories, suggesting that “indoor environments are a major source of inhaled microplastics,” the researchers said.
Co-investigator Thais Mauad, an associate professor of pathology at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, warned: “What is worrying is the ability of such particles to be internalized by cells and alter the functioning of our body.”
The findings “should raise concern amid the rise of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s,” according to the report.
Experiments with mice have already shown how microscopic plastic particles can damage the brain; For example, a 2022 study in the journal Chemosphere found that microplastics cause chronic inflammation that damages brain cells.
Two years earlier, a study by Rutgers University in New Jersey in which pregnant mice inhaled microplastics found that the particles were passed on to the next generation: in the organs and brains of fetuses.
Another new study in humans suggests that microplastics could also invade our brain through the foods and drinks we consume.
The researchers, led by Dr. Matthew Campen, a professor of pharmacology at the University of New Mexico, examined brain, liver and kidney samples taken from post-mortem examinations of 51 local men and women.
Scientists were surprised to find up to 30 times more microplastics (most commonly polyethylene) in brain samples than in liver and kidney.
They theorized that this could be due to high blood flow to the brain carrying plastic particles from organs such as the liver and kidneys. The particles are thought to accumulate there because the brain, which has a blood-brain barrier to protect it, is less efficient than other organs at getting rid of toxic substances.
Professor Campen’s study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, also found that the amount of plastics in brain samples increased by about 50 percent between 2016, when the first samples were taken, and 2024, potentially reflecting the increased human exposure to environmental agents. plastic pollution.
Professor Richard Thompson, a plastic pollution expert at the University of Plymouth, echoed this view and warned that environmental pollution (from microplastics and nanoplastics) could double by 2040.
Instead of waiting for more evidence of harm to humans, Professor Thompson says we should reduce plastic pollution now.
A good starting point for most of us, he told the Mail, is “single-use items, such as plastic bottles.”
What other measures can we take to protect our brain from exposure to microplastics?
USE NATURAL FIBERS
According to a 2020 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), up to 65 percent of all microplastics floating in the air in our homes may come from synthetic fiber clothing.
This warns that microscopic particles are shed every time we wear or dry clothes inside that are made of plastics such as polyester, acrylic and nylon textiles.
Opting for clothes made from cotton, wool and silk could reduce the risk
More than 80 percent of clothing from fashion brands contains plastic, according to a 2021 analysis of 10,000 items by the Royal Society for the Arts.
This type of clothing contributes greatly to the fact that concentrations of microplastics indoors can be 60 times higher than outdoors, according to environmental researchers at the University of Portsmouth.
A potential risk is the effect of these fibers on the lungs.
Two years ago, a study by the University of Hull using samples from living people found microplastics buried deep in the narrow airways of the lungs.
In separate research earlier this year, Barbro Melgert, a professor of respiratory immunology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, found that synthetic fibers in textiles make it difficult for the lungs to recover from infections or injuries.
It’s difficult to avoid these materials completely, but opting for clothing made with cotton, wool, and silk could reduce your risk.
CHOOSE WOODEN FLOORS AND WOOL CARPETS
Carpets are a “significant source of microplastics in indoor air”, a study by environmental scientists at the University of Birmingham warned this year, which examined plastic pollution in the air inside 30 homes in the city.
They found that having carpets was associated with a 20 percent increase in airborne microplastics, compared to indoor areas without carpets, although a 2020 study raised the figure, estimating that having carpets can double the amount of microplastic fibers in the home.
Research shows that plastic fibers are abundant in most mass-market British carpets. Choose natural flooring products made from wool, sisal, jute or seaweed; Wooden floors and natural carpets also do not produce microplastics.
Get rid of microfiber bedding
Synthetic microfiber or holofiber bedding is another major source of indoor microplastic air pollution.
These very fine synthetic fibers, cheap to mass produce, were created as an artificial equivalent to natural down.
The most common plastic found in bedding is polyester, and the most common polyester in bedding is polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. It is made from chemicals, including substances extracted from petroleum and sometimes coal.
Plastic fibers from bedding, carpets and furniture were the dominant type of microplastic found in the University of Birmingham study that looked at plastics in the home and accounted for around 60 per cent of all samples taken.
Try using sheets and pillowcases made of natural fibers and consider duvets filled with natural goose or duck feathers. An alternative to feathers is cellulose fibers processed from wood pulp.
BUY VINTAGE FURNITURE
Many modern pieces of furniture have plastics in their coverings, as well as plastic foam fillings.
Even furniture made from non-plastic materials, such as leather, may have cushions made of polyurethane foam that will ultimately produce microplastic dust.
Modern second-hand furniture is also often made from materials that shed microplastics and infused with older fire retardant chemicals associated with cognitive and fertility problems, as well as allergies.
One option is modern wooden furniture with plastic-free wool cushions. Alternatively, antique and vintage furniture made from horsehair may offer a plastic-free way forward.
DUST WITH A DAMP CLOTH
You can reduce dust and microplastic fibers in your home by regularly using a vacuum cleaner with HEPA or class S filters and by mopping and wiping surfaces with a damp cloth (dry dust releases small particles into the air).
DISMAKE PLASTIC CUTTING BOARDS
Boards made from polyethylene or polypropylene could expose humans to up to 79.4 million microplastics each year
Reduce the ingestion of microplastics by using wooden cutting boards in the kitchen.
Boards made of polyethylene or polypropylene could expose humans to up to 79.4 million microplastics each year, according to a study last year by scientists at North Dakota State University.