Microplastics have been found in human lungs. The findings have been made by both British and Spanish research. The problem with plastic is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges we face. The use of plastic is a symbol of our development. Plastic has many advantages, but for far too long we have used plastic without thinking about where it ends up.

From car tires and plastic bags to microplastic

We don’t think much about where the rubber on car tires ends up as they wear. We don’t think about where the two sentiments with plastic end up. Car tires mostly wear out in small particles that we don’t see. Something settles in the road and makes it dirty. Other parts are dispersed through the air as particulate matter. The car tires become microplastic.

Some of the same happens with other types of plastic. A plastic bag in nature is broken down into smaller and smaller parts, eventually there are tiny particles of it too. The same applies to other plastics. Whether it’s disposable drinking cups or large jugs with bags. If they end up in nature, they are gradually broken down into smaller parts and after a very long time they become microplastic.

Even if a plastic product is no longer visible, it has not disappeared. The decomposition time for a plastic bottle is estimated to be 450 years. Some countries have systems for recycling plastic, most do not have such a system. Much of the plastic we produce today ends up in nature and will be there almost forever. Either as large residues or as small fragments of microplastic.

Something has to be done

Something has to be done. Certain manufacturers have cut out the use of unnecessary plastic and replaced it with other products. For example, the EU has banned a number of products such as disposable plastic cutlery and straws. Some countries also have an environmental tax on certain types of plastic, such as plastic bags.

A plastic product thrown into the sea does not disappear. It drifts far away and can be found again on beaches thousands of kilometers away. For many years, the plastic can drift in the sea. That is, if it does not end up in the stomach of a whale or other animals that live there.

We must do more to limit plastic littering. We do not want microplastics in the lungs. The problem of plastics is best solved through global agreements.

Sources:

Microplastics | National Geographic Society

Detection of microplastics in human lung tissue using μFTIR spectroscopy – ScienceDirect

Researchers find microplastics deep in the lungs of living people : NPR