Scientists in England announced for the first time that small particles of plastic (microplastic) were found in lung tissues taken from living people.
Hull University and Hull York Medical School experts said plastic particles were found in 11 of 13 lung tissue samples tested. It turned out that the most common types of plastic are polypropylene used in packaging and pipes, PET used in bottles and nylon found in clothes.
Scientists have determined that microsplatics can enter the body by inhaling, and pass through the thin airways in the body and settle in the deepest part of the lung.
Stating that they expect it to stick to the upper parts of the lung or be filtered out, experts said that this surprising finding will have an illuminating effect in studies on the effects of microplastics on respiratory health.
In previous studies, plastic particles were found in lung tissues taken during autopsy, but these particles were also detected in samples taken from living people for the first time.
In March, scientists detected, for the first time, the presence of microplastics in human blood.
These studies show that plastic particles can circulate in the body and settle in organs, although the exact damage is not known yet.
An important advance
Hull York Medical School researchers have previously found that plastic particles entering the body through the air and through food and water cause allergic reactions, cell wall damage and cell death in human cells tested in the laboratory. had detected.
For this latest study, living lung tissue from Castle Hill Hospital in the north of England, taken from healthy people during their routine medical appointments, was closely examined.
Laura Sadofsky, one of the lead authors of the study, said that the data obtained from the study is an important advance in the field of air pollution and microplastics, and will lead to new studies on how microplastics affect human health.
in the journal Science of the Total Environment released According to the study, more plastic particles were found in the lungs of men than women.
Experts say that microplastic pollution is now found all over the world, so it is very difficult for people to avoid, and there are concerns about the risks to human health.
Plastic wastes cause very serious environmental pollution and death of living things in the world, and those who work on this issue argue that plastic pollution creates a danger almost equivalent to climate change.
Microplastic has previously been detected in the placenta of pregnant women.
Experts say how microplastics affect human cells and their potential carcinogenic effects need to continue to be studied.