A Dutch study reported, for the first time but with a small sample, the presence of microplastics in human blood, a discovery that raises questions about the possible penetration of these particles into the organs.
The authors of the study, published Thursday in Environment International, analyzed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all volunteers in good health, and found microplastics in 17 of them.
Half of the samples contained traces of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), one of the most widely used plastics in the world, particularly in the manufacture of bottles and polyester fibers.
More than a third had polystyrene, used among other things for food packaging, and a fourth polyethylene.
“For the first time we were able to detect and quantify” these microplastics in human blood, said Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at the Free University of Amsterdam.
“This proves that we have plastic in our body, and we shouldn’t,” he told AFP.
According to the study, the detected microplastics could enter the body through multiple routes: air, water or through food, or hygiene and cosmetic products.
“It is scientifically probable that blood particles can be carried to organs via the blood system,” its authors noted.
This study was funded by the Dutch Organization for Health Research and Development and by Common Seas, a UK-based environmental NGO that seeks to reduce plastic pollution.
For Alice Horton, a specialist in anthropogenic contaminants at the British Oceanography Center, “despite the small sample and the low concentrations detected”, the study’s analytical methods are “very robust”.
“This study helps to show that plastic particles are not only present in the environment, but also in our bodies. The long-term consequences are not yet well understood,” he told the Science Media Centre.
