Two recent studies reveal the presence of microplastic fibers in the most unexpected places. It is found in table salt and human feces. A real problem when you know that these microplastics can pass from the colon into the blood and from the blood into the lymph nodes and the liver!
Plastic is everywhere: in supermarkets, in tap water, on beaches, in the oceans… and maybe even in our excrement. Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna (Austria) have detected traces of plastic in the stools of healthy people from eight European countries, Russia and Japan. Their work was unveiled on Monday 22 October during the 26th European Gastroenterology Week.
For a week, each participant kept a food diary, then specialists took a stool sample. Scientists assessed the samples for the presence of 10 types of plastic using techniques recently developed by the Austrian Environment Agency.
Microplastics can enter the liver
The researchers found 50-500 micrometer fibers of nine different types of plastic (polypropylene, polyethylene, terephthalate, etc.) in the excrement of each of the volunteers. On average, they found 20 microplastic particles for every 10 grams of stool.
Although this research was conducted on a very small sample of participants, this finding remains concerning. “This is the first study of its kind and it confirms what we have long suspected that plastics eventually reach the human gut,” says Dr Philip Schwabl, lead author of the study.
Unlike organic compounds that slowly rot, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. “Although the highest plasma concentrations in animal studies have been found in the intestine, the smallest microplastic particles are able to enter the bloodstream, the lymphatic system, and can even reach the liver,” says Dr. Philip Schwabl.
220 million tons of plastic per year
Another Korean study done in collaboration with Greenpeace East Asia published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology early October assessed the plastic content of 39 table salts.
Products from 28 brands of sea salt came from 16 regions of the world. Scientists found plastic in 25 of 28 sea salt samples (nearly 90%), with particularly high concentrations in sea salt from Asia.
“If salt consumption per day is 10 grams, the average adult consumer could ingest about 2,000 microplastics per year just by consuming salt,” said Professor Kim Seung-Ky, who led the research.
Worldwide, more than 220 million tons of plastic are produced each year. the UN website recalls that, every year, plastic waste cause the death of more than one million seabirds and more than 100,000 marine mammals.
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