In the hustle and bustle of daily life, the significance of things in our environment can get lost in the shuffle. Things we breathe and ingest don’t seem immediately relevant. Consumed by everyday life, the importance of these issues fades. However, they’re there. They never leave.
We just neglect to think about them. Many of these issues don’t produce visible effects. It can be difficult to feel concerned about things in our environment that we cannot see. Nevertheless, that doesn’t reduce the potentially severe consequences that can arise.
Likewise, sometimes the effects of the environment on our health cannot be easily determined. However, the questions must be explored, especially when they could be dangerous. One such study by Dutch scientists falls into this category.
Through funding provided by the Dutch National Organization for Health Research and Development and Common Seas, scientists recently made an alarming discovery. The research found tiny plastic particles in the bloodstream of its test subjects.
The prevalence of these particles wasn’t minimal either. Almost 80 percent of the subjects showed an appreciable amount of “microplastics.” The study took blood samples from 22 anonymous donors.
In 17 of these samples, the amount of microplastics in their bloodstream was “quantifiable.” From the microscopic size of the plastic particles, scientists believe that they were either inhaled or ingested. Eleven of the samples having traces of plastic contained PET plastic.
This is common in drinking bottles. Other blood samples contained varying amounts of polystyrene and polyethylene. These two plastics are found in food packaging and plastic bags. The study was published in Environment International.
This study begs the question of how harmful this could be to the human body. To date, there hasn’t been a quantifiable level for such plastic in the blood. Who would even think it necessary to record such data? Dick Vethaak is an ecotoxicologist from Amsterdam who thinks we should.
Vethaak believes further research is clearly needed. He told the Guardian, “The big question is, what is happening in our body? Are the particles retained in the body?” This single question seems to pose particularly alarming health questions.
Vethaak also questioned, “Are they transported to certain organs, such as getting past the blood-brain barrier? And are these levels sufficiently high to trigger disease?” It’s hard to imagine that plastic particles floating around in our bloodstream are a good thing.
It wouldn’t be surprising to discover that the massive corporations, those who use cheap plastic packaging, aren’t already aware of these potential dangers. If they’re not, they should be funding additional research to discover the truth. Our first hunch is that they already knew.
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