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Scientists raise red flag over plastics found in human blood

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Scientists raise red flag over plastics found in human blood

Four high production volume polymers applied in plastic were identified and quantified for the first time in blood, according to research published in journal Environment International.

The study analysed blood samples from 22 healthy individuals and discovered 17 – or 80% – had plastic particles in their blood stream, including PET plastic which is used in drinks bottles. The study also found plastics from packaged food and plastic bags.

The scientists, from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the presence of polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene and polymers of styrene (a sum parameter of polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, acetonitrile butadiene styrene etc.) in blood samples taken from the general public. These were the ‘most widely encountered’ plastics, followed by poly(methyl methylacrylate).

“This pioneering human biomonitoring study demonstrated that plastic particles are bioavailable for uptake into the human bloodstream. An understanding of the exposure of these substances in humans and the associated hazard of such exposure is needed to determine whether or not plastic particle exposure is a public health risk,”​ the researchers wrote.

An ‘urgent’ need to tackle microplastics

Responding to the findings, water purification company Bluewater said that it shows the ‘urgent need’ to ‘double down on tackling micro-plastic pollution’.

“The presence of polymer particles in our blood underlines the urgent need to accelerate efforts to halt the spread of micro-plastics and the resulting exposure to the chemicals in them,”​ said Bluewater founder and CEO Bengt Rittri.