A team of researchers has found microscopic plastic particles in the blood of 17 out of 22 study participants in the Netherlands.
As reported by USA Today, the researchers found, in measurable amounts, the polyethylene terephthalate found in drink bottles and food packaging; the polystyrene found in disposable plates and styrofoam; and polyethylene, which is found in sandwich bags, shopping bags, and plastic wrap. It’s not known whether the particles accumulate in particular organs and whether those accumulations are significant enough to cause illnesses.
Microscopic plastic particles are in our food and drinks, in the air, and even in the rain.
They are there because humans have manufactured 18.2 trillion pounds of plastic since the 1950s, USA Today reported. Plastics don’t really biodegrade and can survive for many centuries. More and more is being produced worldwide every day. Tons end up in our oceans and other waters, where it can be consumed by wildlife that, eventually, we’ll eat. There are five enormous patches where the ocean currents have caused plastic to broadly accumulate. The largest, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch halfway between Hawaii and California, is twice the size of Texas.
Plastics pollution does not get as much attention as another potential environmental catastrophe, climate change, but it should.
Like climate change, the plastics problem can affect humans and other types of life. But unlike global warming, we don’t have to trust experts to know there’s a problem. This one is obvious. We can see plastic waste everywhere; just look on the side of the road.
The growing plastics problem probably isn’t really on our radar screen, which is understandable. There are other issues to worry about. In the meantime, plastic has become a convenient and necessary part of our everyday lives. When I was young, the grocery store provided brown paper sacks. Then it became “Paper or plastic?” Then it became just plastic, although Kroger has announced it is moving away from plastic bags by 2025.
I wasn’t aware of the problem until a few years ago when I was a judge at the Arkansas Diamond Speech & Debate tournament, which draws homeschoolers from other states. You wouldn’t believe how eloquent these kids are. The one who spoke about plastic changed my life, and I placed him third.
Now I can’t help but see plastic everywhere. Parking lots are full of it, so I’m stooping to pick it up on my way into the store. Pleasant walks are now constantly interrupted by litter gathering. I often find plastic in the dirt when I’m gardening. A few years ago, I stuck myself with a medical finger pricker while working with soil I’d bought from a local landscaping company. It didn’t puncture the skin, but it was a chilling moment.
Any solution will involve some combination of regulatory, voluntary and scientific approaches. California has passed laws to reduce plastics use, but I would not expect that to happen in Arkansas. Regardless, consumers can shop with reusable bags or at least fill up plastic bags and use as few as possible. We can choose products that aren’t wrapped (and wrapped again) in plastic. Gardening helps because your food doesn’t have to be packaged. Recycling has its place, but most plastic can’t really be recycled. It’s better not to produce it in the first place.
It’s probably too much to expect people to make the personal sacrifices that would be necessary to solve the problem, so we’ll need technical solutions. The Great Ocean Cleanup is trawling the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for plastic using a giant net. It shows promise but has yet to completely overcome its challenges. Ultimately, we’ll need biodegradable packaging, but that also will be challenging, because plastic is so good at what it does. Years ago, Sun Chips launched a big marketing campaign touting its bags made of compostable plant material. They worked fine, but consumers rejected them because they were deafeningly loud.
It would be great if we would act with the same urgency that we would as if a deadly virus were spreading through the population, or if Russian troops had invaded.
For now, the danger will not be quite so obvious. Instead, we’ll have to heed the subtler warnings nature and science are providing. We’ve known for a while that microplastics are in our air, water and food. Now we know they’re in our blood.
We don’t know exactly what that means, but it can’t be good.
Steve Brawner is a freelance journalist and syndicated columnist. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.
Leave a Reply