Nation
Microplastics have been found in air, water, food and now … human blood
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- New research has found evidence of plastic in the bloodstream of humans for the first time.
- Microplastics, microscopic pieces of plastic, have been found in water, air, fish and foods.
- Microplastics occur from the breakdown of paints and plastic products, including single-use objects such as plates and shopping bags.
Plastic – it’s in your blood. And we know so because researchers have just found microscopic plastic particles flowing in our bloodstream for the first time.
Previous research had found we inhale and ingest enough microscopic pieces of plastic to create a credit card each week. But until now, scientists didn’t know whether those particles were entering the bloodstream.
“It’s the first step for proper risk assessment … (of) the internal concentrations of plastic particles,” Dick Vethaak, professor of ecotoxicology, water quality and health at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Hague, the Netherlands, told USA TODAY. Vethaak is among the authors of a study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International.
Plastic particles were found in the blood of more than three-fourths (17 out of 22) of the Netherlands-based donors who participated in the study. Of course, knowing there is plastic in the blood of many people just leads to more questions for researchers to tackle.
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“We have to find out where are these particles traveling. Do they accumulate in certain organs?” Vethaak said. “Are (accumulations) sufficiently high enough to trigger responses leading to diseases?”
Plastic particles can enter the body through your food and drink, the air you breathe – there are microscopic plastic bits flying around in the air – and even from the rain.
Finding signs of plastic in the blood
Researchers analyzed subjects’ blood samples for traces of the presence of different polymers, which are the building blocks of plastics. Most prominent was polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common type of plastic used in making drink bottles, food packaging and fabrics, and even lip gloss.
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The second most commonly found plastic in the samples: polystyrene, used to make a wide variety of common household products including disposable bowls, plates and food containers, and what we call styrofoam.
The third most likely plastic found in subjects’ blood was polyethylene, a material regularly used in the production of paints, sandwich bags, shopping bags, plastic wrap and detergent bottles, and in toothpaste.
Polypropylene, used in making food containers and rugs, was also found in subjects’ blood, but at concentrations too low for an accurate measurement.
Did you know?
- Humans have produced 18.2 trillion pounds of plastics – the equivalent to 1 billion elephants – since large-scale plastic production began in the early 1950s. Nearly 80% of that plastic is now in landfills, researchers say. By 2050, another 26.5 trillion pounds will be produced worldwide.
- Plastic flowing into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes will increase from 11 million metric tons in 2016 to 29 million metric tons annually in 2040, the equivalent of dumping 70 pounds of plastic waste along every foot of the world’s coastline, according to research from The Pew Charitable Trusts.
- You eat or breathe in about 2,000 tiny plastic particles each week, the World Wildlife Federation found in a 2019 study. Most are ingested from bottled water and tap water.
The overall concentration of plastic particles in the donor’s blood averaged 1.6 micrograms, or one-millionth of a gram – the equivalent to one teaspoon of plastic per the amount of water in ten large bathtubs, researchers say.
That’s not much, but researchers only searched for a few plastic polymers. And plastic particles may be in different concentrations in different parts of the body.
Researchers particularly wonder whether microplastics – or even smaller particles called nanoplastics – could affect the brain, digestive system and other parts of the body. Could they help cancers develop or grow?
“More detailed research … is urgently needed,” Vethaak and other researchers say in a separate article published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Exposure and Health. “The problem is becoming more urgent with each day.”
Microplastics: A problem that’s not going away
That’s because microplastics, a type of pollution, are literally everywhere, having been found from the bottom of the ocean to Mount Everest. We’ve known that fish have been ingesting them.
More foods including fruits and vegetables may contain microplastics, too. Previous research found that infants may ingest 10 times the amount of microplastics that adults do, based on a 2021 study comparing adult and infant feces. Babies could have higher microplastics exposures from bottles and baby toys, researchers suggest.
Microplastics will continue to spread because plastic production is only increasing, said Jo Royle, CEO of Common Seas, an organization targeting plastic pollution in the oceans. Common Seas, along with the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, commissioned the research. “We need to hurry up and invest in the research to be able to understand what threats plastics pose to human health,” Royle told USA TODAY.
She said her blood, and that of Vethaak’s, was analyzed and found to have plastics in the bloodstream but was not included in the published research. “To find this plastic in my blood, it is concerning,” Royle said.
With research, “we can make informed choices,” she said. “But there’s a lot of steps that we can take each day to reduce our exposure to single-use plastics and particularly food and beverage packaging.”
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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Harsh sanctions from Western nations on Russia have reminded citizens of the country’s 1998 debt crisis.
By Anna Nemtsova
USA TODAY
- McDonalds and other American businesses have closed in Russia amid its invasion into Ukraine.
- One expert estimates more than 200,000 Russians have left the country since the start of the war.
- To counter economic turmoil, Putin has demand “unfriendly” countries pay for natural gas exports in rubles.
The once bustling corner of Moscow’s central Tverskaya Street looked deserted on Wednesday, as Russia’s first-ever McDonald’s franchise – opened in 1990 in a move that symbolized the Soviet Union’s opening to the West – shut its doors.
A large mural depicting a giant, Soviet-era medal – the Order of Victory, the highest military decoration awarded in World War II — loomed over over the empty sidewalk.
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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