One of the comforts of modern living is the use of plastic. In recent years, microplastic contamination has gained international attention. Microplastics are plastic granules smaller than 5 mm that can be found everywhere, from the air we breathe to the deepest oceans. Microplastics have been discovered in the most remote locations on Earth, including the alpine and polar regions, due to their small size and mass, which enables them to be easily transported by wind. They are created as a result of larger plastics breaking down and also during commercial product development.
Microplastics are even found in the food and water we consume. They have been found to alter practically all levels of biological organization and have an impact on the living world. In this article, the term "microplastics" and its potential impact on human health are discussed.
Due to its endurance, plastic generates more garbage after being abandoned, and the pollution it causes persists for a long time. The microplastics issue is projected to worsen with time. By 2050, it is anticipated that the 400 million metric tons of microplastics currently generated each year will have more than doubled.
How Do They Affect Human Health?
Because microplastics are everywhere—in air, water, food, and consumer goods—people can be exposed to them by ingestion, absorption through the skin, and inhalation.
According to research, they can cause metabolic disruption and neurotoxicity and have carcinogenic consequences. Microplastics have been found to be endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with how hormones normally work and possibly increase appetite. The development of the prenatal brain is thought to be hampered by some microplastics, such as flame retardants, and normal brain development in children can also be impacted.
For more than 20 years, researchers have studied the potentially damaging consequences of microplastics, with the majority of those studies focusing on the risk to marine life. Whales and tiny zooplankton, among many other aquatic creatures, have all been shown to contain microplastics. The term "microplastics" was first used in 2004 by marine scientist Richard Thompson of the University of Plymouth in the UK. They threaten marine organisms physically and physiologically, and because they are easily transmitted and bioaccumulate in the food chain, they also endanger humans.
Yet, it is difficult to examine how marine microplastics affect human health:
- Plastics and additives behave differently depending on the physical and chemical environment, and the features of microplastics can alter when they are consumed, metabolised, and excreted by species in the food chain. Humans cannot be utilized in their research.
- These tiny particles have the ability to enter the body's cells, tissues, and organs. Authorities have started to assess the risk that microplastics represent to human health and measure human exposure to them.
- The toughest part is determining the overall risk they pose to our health. The degree of toxicity we may be exposed to from ingested microplastics is highly dependent on how rapidly they leave the body. Researchers have just begun to focus on this.
Lastly, as quoted in one of Priya's articles, "Plastic is found in the bloodstream too!" And she has rightly quoted, "It can lead to anything." So, a true minimalist approach towards plastic use should be practiced on a serious note by one and all, going further to just delay the damage we as mankind have already caused!
