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 Researchers who examined stool samples from eight people from
diverse geographic locations found that all contained bits of
plastic, according to a report in Annals of Internal Medicine.
"This small prospective case series showed that various
microplastics were present in human stool, and no sample was free of
microplastics," wrote the team of scientists, led by Dr. Philipp
Schwabl of the Medical University of Vienna. "Larger studies are
needed to validate these findings. Moreover, research on the origins
of microplastics ingested by humans, potential intestinal
absorption, and effects on human health is urgently needed."
The researchers did not respond to an emailed request for an
interview.
To get an idea of how widespread plastic ingestion might be, Schwabl
and his colleagues rounded up eight volunteers who were willing to
keep a food diary for a week and then submit a stool sample for
analysis.
The study volunteers came from around the globe: Japan, Russia, the
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Finland and Austria.
Their food diaries showed that all had possible plastic exposure via
food wrappers and bottles. None of the volunteers were vegetarians.
Six of the eight had consumed ocean-going fish.
The stool samples were tested at the Environment Agency Austria for
10 types of plastic with a newly developed analytical procedure. As
many as nine different plastics, with pieces ranging in size from 50
to 500 micrometers, were found in the stool samples. The most common
plastics found were polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate.
The samples contained, on average, 20 microplastic particles per 10g
of stool.
The particles were mostly shaped as fragments and films and rarely
as spheres or fibers, the researchers reported.
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It's not known where the microplastics came from or how they were
ingested. But because there were different types of plastic, the
researchers suspect there were multiple sources, ranging from food
processing and packaging to shellfish and sea salt.
The researchers also don't know how the bits of plastic might impact
health.
"Discussion is ongoing about the potential health effects of
ingested microplastics and nanoplastics, which (at least in animals)
may translocate into gastrointestinal tissues or other organs and
cause deleterious effects," they noted.
While the new study shows that the bits of ingested plastic can be
detected, "it gives no insight into health implications," said
Jennifer Adibi, an assistant professor in the department of
epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of
Public Health.
It does shine a light on a different way of looking at the impact of
plastics on health, Adibi said. "Until now we have been focused on
measuring and studying the health effects of the chemicals in
plastics," she added. "Now we need to extend that thinking to
include the intact particles of plastics. It seems the mechanisms
could go beyond the cell, and involve effects on tissue matrices,
including cell membranes."
At some point, Adibi said, "we need to understand if particles in
poop are correlated with particles in our target tissues--the liver,
brain, reproductive organs, fetuses, placentas."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2NRWurU Annals of Internal Medicine, online
September 2, 2019.
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