All around us, more and more plastic waste is polluting our environment. And if researchers are still struggling to explain what effects they may have on our health, they have only shown a link between the presence of micro or nanoplastics in the body and certain pathologies. .
In the 1950s, the world consumed about 1.5 million tons. PlasticPlastic. This number has now exceeded 400 million tons! A consumption that is unfortunately accompanied by increased production of plastic waste. Estimates suggest that by 2050, there could be as many as 12,000 million tons of plastic in our landfills and nature. A result of our appetite for single-use products. And more broadly, of our society “all disposable”.
As a result, plastic pollution is becoming more and more of a problem. Late last November, representatives from about 170 countries met in Busan (South Korea) to finalize an international agreement against this plastic pollution. But they did not reach an agreement. Negotiations should resume in 2025. However, no date has been set yet.
These are all places in the body where scientists have found plastic.
While politicians procrastinate, scientists continue to study the effects that plastic pollution can have on our environment. EcosystemEcosystem And on our health. Because it should be remembered that micro (nano) plastics (MNP) have been found almost everywhere. In the waters, in the soil and in me the windthe wind. In our respiratory and digestive tracts, in our blood and in many of our organs.
do you know
Scientists refer to all the pieces of plastic found in the environment as microplastics that are less than 5 millimeters in size. Nanoplastics are less than 1 micrometer or 100 nanometers in size.
To get a more accurate idea of what specific effects these MNPs might have on our health, researchers at the University ofAgricultureAgriculture and Zhejiang (China) Forestry reviewed dozens of scientific publications on the subject. In the magazine Trends in Analytical Chemistrythey are the first to describe the various places in our bodies where microplastics or nanoplastics of all sizes and shapes have been detected, whether by spectroscopies, by microscopy or PyrolysisPyrolysis Together with Mass spectrometryMass spectrometry with a gas chromatography step.
They report such, even if methods QuantificationQuantification Still leaving some to be desired, MNPs have been found in skin, arteries, veins, bone marrow, testes, sperm,The uterusThe uterus And Umbilical cordUmbilical cord. In the digestive system, wholesalewholesale To emit, to pass through FoieFoie And StoneStone. but also throughout the respiratory system, including lung tissue, with microscopic fibers liquidliquid bronchoalveolar lavage and wholesalewholesale. So much to observe.
And the researchers have specified that it is from BreathingBreathing That these small particles seem more ready to penetrate our body. As is often the case, children and people over the age of 60 appear to be most susceptible.
Lesion and micro (nano) plastics are interconnected.
Scientists then pointed out that toxicological studies showed links between the abundance of these plastic particles and diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. ThrombosisThrombosis or cervical cancer. What the team essentially found was that measured levels of micro (nano)plastics were higher in injured tissue than in uninjured tissue. Inflammatory bowel disease, for example, or in LungsLungs FibrousFibrous or TumorTumor This suggests a possible link between MNPs and the accumulation of carcinogens. PathologiesPathologies.
A bit like a chicken-and-egg story, however, this remains to be determined “Who Came First”. Because work has already demonstrated this. MicroplasticsMicroplastics and nanoplastics can specifically stimulate a. Oxidative stressOxidative stressmitochondrial dysfunction, various inflammatory responses andApoptosisApoptosis – A type of cell death. All of which have the potential to damage or aggravate tissue. But it is also possible that these lesions deposit more MNPs in already damaged areas. Scientists will have to study this question more deeply to decide. And given the context of insane plastic consumption, there is an urgent need to understand this now. Clearly, another urgent need remains to find effective strategies to control the production and use of plastic products…
A second review of more than 1,000 studies questioning the effects of exposure to MNPs recently confirmed this. Researchers at the University of California (USA) admit that the evidence is sometimes weak. If they consider that they have a high standard for the effects of plastic pollution on sperm quality, they refer to a minimum standard for effects on sperm quality. pregnancypregnancyfor example. However, since microplastics and nanoplastics are now ubiquitous in our environment and are found continuously and even rapidly in the human body, researchers believe that “Possible to affect various body systems”.
“These findings have important implications for policy and research.”they conclude. They certainly call for further study. Rather, to act without further delay at the political level. Indeed, even if evidence of adverse effects remains limited, they seem to be increasing. solidsolid. And researchers at the University of California also suggest. “I urge regulators and policymakers to take action and take steps to prevent or reduce human exposure to microplastics.”
