They discovered that the plastic also reaches people’s lungs.

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A research team from the University of Hull and Castle Hill Hospital, both in the United Kingdom, found tiny plastic particles in lung tissue from living human patients. Such material was observed for the first time in living humans. The group published an article in the journal Describing this discovery. Total Environmental Science and a disturbing finding that contributes to the recent detection of microplastics in the human bloodstream.

Previous studies have found tiny bits of plastic inside animals and humans. Such particles have been found in the spleens, kidneys and livers of both living and deceased people. Y last month, they reported that they found a team in the Netherlands microplastics in the bloodstream from a living human patientThis was a new step in the alarming plastic colonization of the human body. In this new study, researchers reported finding microplastics in lung tissue taken from patients living in a hospital.

Plastic parts in the lungs Science Direct

Suspecting that some people could inhale microscopic bits of plastic, the researchers worked with surgical teams at Castle Hill Hospital and studied some of their patients. They had surgery to treat a variety of lung conditions and agreed to allow the research team to examine tissue taken from their lungs during surgery. In this way, the research team was able to collect 13 samples, each of which was subjected to a microscope. They found plastic fragments in 11 of them.

Examining the found fragments, the researchers found 12 different species, including those used in common household applications such as clothing, containers and bottles. But the most surprising thing is where these pieces of plastic are found. The team found it in the lower regions, in addition to the upper part of the lungs, where it was already expected that such particles could accumulate.

Men have more than women

This was a real surprise because the airways in these parts of the lung are much smaller, making it harder for particles to reach them. The researchers were also surprised to find higher levels of plastic in male patients compared to female patients.

Science Direct

The researchers explained that no one really knows what effects the tiny bits of plastic dispersing in the body might have, or the effects on human health, but speculated that further research would be required to find out.

Experts now fear that these pieces of plastic may cross the membrane that protects the brain against foreign bodies.a limit that, if crossed, will come as an alarming surprise because of the possible consequences.

Nanoplastics, particles invisible to the human eye, are ingested by humans. through food and drink, because these fragments have been found in both bottled water and table salt, and in a wide variety of essential and common foods in the human diet.

They also penetrate organisms through lipstick, toothpaste and many other daily hygiene items.

Reference work: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722020009?via%3Dihub

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