Microplastics come from larger plastic debris that gets broken down, as well as microbeads in beauty products and microfiber towels. They are fragments of plastic smaller than the eye can see and they are in our food and in the air we breathe.
A new study was commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and carried out by the microplastics research team at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
The report collated the findings of 50 international research papers. It found that based on “conservative assumptions” that people are consuming about 2,000 tiny pieces of microplastic each week, about the same as a teaspoon of plastic or a credit card.
The report titled No Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Ingestion from Nature to People has been under consideration for academic publication but was released early to coincide with WWF’s campaign for action on plastic pollution.
A week earlier, another study titled Human Consumption of Microplastics was published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. This study found that Americans accidentally eat and inhale around 200 or more of these microscopic pieces of plastic every day.
They don’t yet know what these microplastics are doing to our bodies. However, there is evidence suggesting that eating food and drinking beverages out of plastic containers can mess with our hormones, scramble our reproductive systems, and make us fatter.
The University Of Newcastle Report
- Data from 50 international research papers was collated in an attempt to provide an accurate calculation of ingestion rates of microplastic pieces.
- The study focused on tiny pieces of microplastic less than 1mm in size, which are the most commonly ingested contaminants.
- Plastic pieces above 1mm were discounted from the study.
- The study looked at staples such as water, shellfish, fish, salt, beer, honey, and sugar.
- They “did not take into account other possible direct ingestion sources such as the honey, fish, sugar (for which data was collated) or rice, pasta, bread, milk, utensils, cutlery, toothpaste, toothbrushes, food packaging and a multitude of other sources that would only add to the amount consumed” says the University of Newcastle.
- 16 papers focused on indoor and outdoor air quality were included.
Results
- The average person could be ingesting approximately 2000 tiny pieces of plastic – 5 grams of plastic every week, equivalent to a credit card’s worth of plastic. That’s equivalent to 21 grams a month, just over 250 grams a year.
- The majority of microplastic particles were found in drinking water sources all around the world. “An average person potentially consumes as much as 1769 particles of plastic every week just from water” the paper states.
- Shellfish could amount to 0.5g a week because they tend to be eaten whole.
- Other common sources of microplastics were beer and salt
- Plastic particles in the air represent a negligible proportion but amounts vary heavily depending on the environment.
The Human Consumption of Microplastics Study
- Data from 26 studies was compiled. The compilation consisted of 3,600 samples of food and drink sources including seafood, salt, sugar, honey, beer, and water from the tap and bottles.
- In addition, microplastic concentrations in the air (indoors and out) were analyzed.
- Then they calculated how much of these substances the average person eats and breathes in every day, based on recommended dietary intakes, consumption data from the Department of Agriculture, and estimates from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The Results
- Depending on age and gender, Americans take in between 203 and 312 bits of plastic every day. Over a year that equals to the average American woman ingesting around 98,000 tiny plastic particles every year, while the average man consumes 121,000, and children consume around 74,000.
- Depending on the water source, the number increases to either an additional 90,000 per year if you drink bottled water, or an additional 4,000 if you drink tap water.
Health Concerns
The World Health Organization says there isn’t yet enough evidence to conclude that microplastic particles are hurting us. There is not enough data yet on humans to know. Other living organisms is another matter – research conducted in other creatures does not look good. Evidence shows that microplastics hurt sea life and slow down growth and reproduction rates in fish.
The most common microplastics we eat are fibers (like those from microfiber cloths), but we also take in plastic fragments, plastic granules that can be as big as sesame seeds, and tiny bits of foams and films. The plastic we breathe is small like dust. “Unless coughed or sneezed out of the mouth or nasal openings, inhaled particles will either enter the digestive system via mucociliary clearing or remain trapped in the lungs,” the researchers said in the study.
As said before, it is not yet known whether the tiny particles are dangerous for us on their own, but scientists do know that they contain toxic chemicals that have been shown to have detrimental health effects. One category of these chemicals is phthalates. They are found in plastic packaging. According to the US National Institutes of Health, there is at least one phthalate that can cause cancer. Phthalates can also mess with our ability to make babies and can impair healthy child development. Overall, plasticizing chemicals may be linked to decreases in male testosterone levels.
Another dangerous chemical that may be in microplastics is BPA. It’s often used in the lining of canned foods and drinks. A survey conducted in 2013 and 2014 by the Centers for Disease Control suggested that 95% of US adults have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies. There’s evidence that this BPA exposure can make our bodies turn more calories into fat rather than muscle, and can make our fat cells larger, according to Business Insider.
There is the hopeful chance that any chemicals in microplastics will pass through our bodies without causing damaging effects. But even if that is the case, we are not safe from the harmful effects of plastic on a larger scale and the environment is most definitely suffering.
Now What?
Since there is not much that can be done in regards to consuming microplastics, for now, all you can do is limit contact of food and water with chemicals commonly found in plastic. For example, avoid dishwashing or microwaving any plastic containers that are not dishwasher safe and microwavable, because the heat can cause toxic, endocrine-disrupting chemicals to leach out into what we eat; and opt out of plastic packaging and storage containers when possible.
The grave reality is, the amount we consume is probably a lot more than the estimate given by the researchers. They did not calculate how many microplastics people take in from some common everyday foods like meat, grains, and vegetables, for example, because there isn’t much information available about the microplastic concentrations in those (data is better for things like seafood and water). The University of Newcastle report only focused on staples, and the Human Consumption of Microplastics study only covered 15% of the average American diet. Furthermore, estimates for any additional microplastics that may get added during food preparation were not included, and they didn’t consider the microplastics that might accumulate on top of food while it’s sitting out waiting to be eaten either. The authors do caution that the numbers are conservative estimates. In reality, our “annual microplastic consumption could exceed several hundred thousand,” the researchers said.
The real total doesn’t matter in the end. The important thing is the urgency to produce and use less plastic overall. This would lead to fewer tiny pieces of microplastic accumulating in the environment, which in turn would ensure that humans consume less of the toxic chemicals found in plastic products in general. “It speaks to reducing the use of plastic materials in your daily life when it comes to contact with food, period,” the researchers write. “Because ultimately the reason that we’re seeing microplastics in the environment is the ubiquitous use of plastics.”
