Plastic pollution -- tiny bits of plastic, smaller than a grain of sand -- is everywhere, a fact of life that applies even to newborn rodents.
Plastic pollution -- tiny bits of plastic, smaller than a grain of sand -- is everywhere, a fact of life that applies even to newborn rodents, according to a Rutgers Health study published in the journalResearchers have long understood that micro- and nanoplastic particles , which enter the environment through oxidation and natural degradation of consumer products, are easily deposited in the human body through inhalation, absorption and diet.
"Nobody wants plastic in their liver," said Phoebe A. Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, and the study's senior author."Now that we know it's there -- as well as in other organs -- the next step is to understand why and what that means."
Two weeks after birth, two newborn rats -- one male and one female -- were tested for micro- and nanoplastic exposure. In both cases, the same type of plastic that the mothers inhaled during pregnancy were found in the offspring's lung, liver, kidney, heart and brain tissue. No plastics were found in a control group.
Micro- and nanoplastics are a ubiquitous pollutant, and have been detected in food, farmland, seawater and snow. Plastics have even been found in the world's deepest oceans and highest mountains. "I don't think we'll ever get rid of plastics altogether," she said."They're too important for modern life. But I do think we might get to a point where we'll have some policies to indicate which ones are less toxic than others."Gina M. Moreno, Tanisha Brunson-Malone, Samantha Adams, Calla Nguyen, Talia N. Seymore, Chelsea M. Cary, Marianne Polunas, Michael J. Goedken, Phoebe A. Stapleton.
Medical Topics Chronic Illness Pregnancy And Childbirth Environmental Science Air Pollution Air Quality Recycling And Waste
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