I don't know if you have found that in the past two years, countries have mentioned the topics of "environmental protection" and "energy conservation and emission reduction" more and more frequently. Many countries have also launched the strictest "plastic ban" in history, overnight, plastic bags, straws, disposable lunch boxes, tableware, etc., all disappeared without a trace.
Why are you suddenly in such a hurry to ban plastic bags?
You may have heard that microplastics cause marine pollution, and you have seen horrible pictures of marine creatures eating plastic into their stomachs, but now, it is being ingested into our bodies little by little.
We are not only eating plastic, but also eating with our mouths open, and microplastics have been found in many organs of the human body.
Half a month ago, a study published in the journal Environment International confirmed for the first time the presence of microplastics in human blood.
On the morning of April 7, another academic paper published in science of the Total Environment, the top journal in the field of environmental science, pointed out that scientists found microplastics deep in the lungs of living people for the first time.
These two research papers are a wake-up call for human beings - when humans continue to use plastic waste to destroy the natural ecological environment, nature will also "complain directly" and let plastic particles return to the human body.
First the blood, then the respiratory system, medical experts have expressed concern about the potential health risks of microplastics.
In the latest study, researchers took samples of healthy lung tissue from 13 patients who underwent surgery and detected 39 microplastics in tissue samples from 11 of them — much higher than any previous experiment.
The researchers identified a total of 12 polymer types, the most common being polypropylene (PP) for takeaway lunch boxes, followed by polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and resin for plastic water bottles.
Dr Laura Sadofsky, lead author of the study and senior lecturer in respiratory medicine at Hurjörk Medical School in the UK, said: "Earlier we only found microplastics in human autopsy samples. We were amazed that there were so many microplastics hidden in the deeper parts of the lungs of living people. Supposedly, the airways in the lower part of the lungs are narrow, and plastic particles of these sizes should have been filtered out. ”
We breathe oxygen into the lungs, which in turn carry oxygen to the bloodstream and emit carbon dioxide. If the lungs cannot filter these microplastics between 1 and 20 nanometers in diameter, what harm will they cause to human health over the years?
Experts don't have enough evidence to confirm the toxicity of microplastics, but some experts have associated that nicotine enters the lungs when smoking, tar and PM-level particulate matter can cause lung lesions, and the human body cannot be fully metabolized - lung cancer has become a major conjecture of the risk of microplastics.
But I think the harm of microplastics is much more than just in the lungs, because it is spread throughout all parts of the human body.
The World Wildlife Fund has published an article saying, "Humans eat about 5 grams of microplastics per week, which is equivalent to a credit card." ”
Some experts have made analogies and believe that:
Humans inhale an average of up to 7,000 microplastics a day, which is equivalent to eating one scoop of plastic raw every week, eating a cereal bowl with a capacity of 125 grams per month, and eating a whole plate of plastic every year. So accumulated for ten years, a person can eat 5 pounds of microplastics in the body, which is equivalent to swallowing a lifebuoy. In a lifetime, you can eat two large garbage cans.
A study by the Medical University of Vienna also mentioned that an adult who consumes 1.5 to 2 liters of bottled mineral water per day will consume more than 100,000 microplastics per year, and even if they drink tap water, they will consume 40,000 microplastics per year.
Even more frightening is the baby. Scientists have tested 10 kinds of baby bottles that can represent most of the world's babies and found that the release of microplastics from bottles is about 1.3 million to 16.2 million particles. If the milk powder is washed with boiling water at 95 degrees Celsius, the release of microplastics can reach 55 million.
It is estimated that babies were exposed to an average of 1.6 million microplastics per day during the first 12 months of breastfeeding.
When it was discovered that contemporary humans consume such a large amount of microplastics from food, water, air, etc. every day, experts have deep concerns about human health. Although the results of the current study are limited and the conclusions are not necessarily 100% accurate, the experts have the following concerns:
1. Vascular embolism: This conclusion comes from a 2021 study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology that suggests that microplastics can pass through cell membranes, enter organs, and block blood vessels.
2. Cause kidney and digestive system damage: If microplastics accumulate in organs, they will induce acute or chronic verification, because the human body is difficult to metabolize, and eventually cause irreversible damage to organs.
3. High risk of carcinogenicity: When microplastics interact with proteins and nucleic acids in the human body, they may denature proteins, resulting in carcinogenic mutations.
4. Enteritis, bowel cancer and other problems: In 2021, Chinese scientists analyzed stool samples from patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and found that the microplastics in feces were 1.5 times that of healthy people. The study speculates that microplastics can cause inflammatory bowel disease, causing inflammation of the human intestine, intestinal microbial disorders, chronic pain and other problems.
In any case, microplastics, a small particle that cannot be seen and touched, are quietly becoming the "invisible killer" that threatens our health. It may appear in our blood, lungs, feces, and even the brain and human placenta; it is also appearing in every corner of the planet.
In 2019, according to media reports, it rained "plastic rain" in the Rocky Mountains region where Canada borders the United States.
News of the discovery of microplastics continues to break out around the world. As far as the rare and uninhabited ice sheet of Antarctica, as deep as the Mariana Trench, as deep as the roof of the world, Mount Everest...
A few days ago, even the Arctic Ocean had bad news. A new study, published in the journal Scientific Reports and led by the AWI, shows that plastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean is worrying.
Through rivers, air, shipping and other channels, the flood of plastic seems to have reached all areas of the Arctic.
The researchers wrote heartbreakingly in the report: "These floating plastics could have a profound impact on circulation in ecosystems in the Arctic." Invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals can be poisoned. ”
According to research published in the journal Nature, nearly 400 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and this number is expected to double by 2050.
The earth is becoming less and less suitable for human habitation, and these retributions have repeatedly warned us: environmental protection and plastic ban are really necessary!