More than 460 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year and new research reveals the worrying impacts it is having on our health.
UC San Francisco researchers reviewed 3,000 studies and found microplastics They are directly linked to a variety of serious health problems, including infertility, colon cancer, and poor lung function.
Microplastics are about the size of a pencil eraser and have infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives, but there are thousands of particles that are too small to see with the naked eye.
They are found in the air, soil, food and water, food and drink containers, and the body. People are constantly exposed to particles, breathing them, and drinking and eating them without knowing it.
Previous studies have even discovered the substances in people’s brains and a woman’s placenta and estimate that exposure to microplastics costs the US healthcare system $289 billion a year.
When tiny plastics enter the body, they can lodge in tissues and enter the bloodstream. Once there, they cause widespread inflammation when the immune system recognizes them as a foreign invader.
This can cause a wide variety of medical problems, including tissue damage and inflammation in the liver and heart, and over time, the buildup in the body can cause irreversible damage.
And with plastic production expected to triple by 2060, UC researchers said: ‘Due to the ubiquitous exposure and bioaccumulative characteristics of microplastics, the extent of human health impacts due to exposure to microplastics is of great concern.’
More than 460 million tons of plastic are produced every year and new research reveals the worrying impacts it is having on our health
He reviewpublished earlier this month in ACS Publications Environmental Science & Technology, analyzed approximately 3,000 animal and human studies that investigated an association between exposure to microplastics and health outcomes in the respiratory, digestive and reproductive systems.
Studies suggested a strong link between microplastics and changes in the digestive system and colon cancer, as the small particles disrupt the colon’s protective mucosal layer and potentially promote tumor development.
The researchers wrote: “We have concluded that exposure to microplastics is ‘suspected’ to negatively affect the colon and small intestine in humans.”
They also wrote that microplastics are “suspected” of causing intestinal cell death and chronic inflammation, as well as negatively affecting the intestinal immune system.
Overall, the researchers said: “Through the results, we identified that exposure to microplastics is ‘suspected’ of being a digestive hazard for humans, including a suspected link with colon cancer, using the trait approach.” key to carcinogens.
Microplastics are also suspected of affecting fertility as they can potentially affect the hormonal balance in the reproductive system, damaging sperm quality and count in men and affecting the function of the ovaries and placenta in women.
One of the studies found an association between microplastics detected in the placenta and low birth weight, while another discovered a link between microplastics in amniotic fluid and preterm birth.
And exposure to microplastics is linked to adverse ovarian function and development.
Additionally, the review said: “We conclude that exposure to microplastics is ‘suspected’ to negatively affect sperm quality and testicular health in humans.”
The UC team also discovered an association between microplastics and poor lung function, with the particles causing inflammation in the airways.
Particles cause lung injury and chronic lung inflammation, which can increase the risk of lung cancer.
The researchers added: “Across all results that were fully evaluated, we identified that exposure to microplastics is ‘suspected’ of being a hazard to the human respiratory system.”
Commenting on the findings, senior author Tracey J. Woodruff, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSF, said: “These microplastics are basically air pollution particles, and we know that this type of air pollution is harmful. “.
The researchers wrote: ‘Microplastics are widespread and mobile in the environment, being detected in air, surface waters, coastal beaches, sediments and food.
“They have been discovered in remote and pristine locations, including Antarctica, deep ocean trenches and Arctic sea ice.
«Due to their small size, microplastics enter and distribute more easily in the human body compared to larger particles; Microplastics have been measured in human placenta, breast milk and liver.
Every year, companies around the world produce nearly 460 million metric tons of plastic. That number is expected to reach 1.1 billion by 2050.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco reviewed about 3,000 studies and found that microplastics are directly linked to a variety of serious health problems.
The article is the first systematic review of microplastics using standard methods approved by the National Academy of Sciences.
Most of the studies in the review were based on animals, but researchers said the conclusions probably apply to humans as well, since they share many of the same exposures.
The study expands on a report researchers worked on last year with the California State Policy Evidence Consortium (CalSPEC).
The Consortium includes experts from across the UC system and provides evidence for policymakers in the California State Legislature.
“We urge regulatory agencies and political leaders to consider the growing evidence of health harms caused by microplastics, including colon and lung cancer,” said Nicholas Chartres, PhD.
Chartres, the study’s first author, led PRHE’s science and policy team and is now at the University of Sydney.
“We hope state leaders take immediate action to prevent further exposures.”