The Irish Medical Times - Tiny Terrors! Why microplastics are our next big health crisis
These shifts arose from a collective foresight to shield future generations from the hazards of past inventions. This leads me to question: what man-made health risks will my generation confront? Let’s start with plastic, a synthesized material that now permeates every aspect of global life.
The first commercially successful plastic, Bakelite, was invented in 1909. Lightweight, strong and easy to create, by the 1970s, plastic had become the most ubiquitous material worldwide. Decades later, supposedly indestructible plastic is falling apart and it’s taking us down with it.
In 2022, microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time - highlighting the significant health risk posed by these tiny plastic particles. Recent studies suggest a potential link between microplastics and a range of health issues, including respiratory illness, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, coronary disease, and endocrine disruption.
Microplastics are omnipresent: in our food, drinks, products, the air we breathe, and even our bedding. They are found in homes, cleaning products, carpeting, and paint (to name a few sources). Before the 1990s, plastic was disposed of in the ocean leading to high microplastic concentrations in the fish that we eat. Even evaporated seawater contains microplastics - there is plastic in our rainfall!
Which makes our plastic raincoats and umbrellas a dramatic irony.
There is a general agreement that the prevalence and durability of plastics, at one time its shining glory, have now become, that dreaded word, “problematic”. However, reducing our reliance on plastic is challenging because firstly it's everywhere and secondly it's so goddamn convenient. Like sugar and spice, all things nice, and other toxic compounds, we know we should take a step back from plastics, but it’s easier said than done. I’m sure people had similar thoughts about cigarettes and flopping about in the back of cars.
A readily addressable issue are plastic bottles. A scientific paper recently reported that moving from single-serve plastic bottles to tap water could reduce microplastic intake from 90,000 to 4,000 particles per year, cutting our microplastic intake by over 90%.
There have been positives to our synthetic frenemy. Plastics have undeniably fueled invention and development, facilitating our modern, convenient lifestyles. From readily available clothing to food storage and on-the-go living, plastic has enabled us to maintain much of what we crave - we can have it all, we can do it all, and we pay for it with plastic.
Plastic offers undeniable benefits: it's light, strong, malleable, and recyclable. It is SO convenient we produce over 400 million tons every year, that’s 400 million tons that will never decompose. However, the concern extends beyond the plastic itself to the chemicals incorporated for durability, waterproofing, and other properties. When food is heated in plastic, these chemicals, and trillions of microplastics, can leach into the food. This isn't limited to microwaves; hot coffee in a cup with a plastic lid, or non-stick pans with plastic-based coatings, also pose risks.
Some might argue that plastic swilling around in our insides is the price we pay for progression, or that individual lives are already too burdened or insignificant to tackle a global issue.
But one by one we can make a difference, after all, shouldn’t progression prolong our lives and our children's lives, not curtail it?
Perhaps we can start with making small manageable changes and engage in dialogue about improving health. We all know smoking is bad for you, but do we all know plastics are bad for you?
Initial studies indicate that microplastics can lodge in coronary arteries, triggering an immune response that could lead to a cardiac event.
Even those who consciously strive for a plastic-free life face challenges. Receipts often use BPA (Bisphenol A) or BPS (Bisphenol S) to thermal print instead of ink, these are plastic chemicals that can transfer to skin upon touch and be absorbed. While the amount may be minor, it illustrates how difficult it is to completely avoid plastic, although there has been a recent shift away from BPA/BPS receipts. Canned goods, despite their metallic appearance, are frequently lined with plastic pouches. Microplastics lurk in kitchen appliances from toasters to air fryers. Even the fibre within a teabag releases billions of microplastics when brewed, yum.
Beyond the kitchen, cozy blankets are often synthetic. The next time you are relaxing in front of the TV with a cuppa and a quilt, remember, you are basically wrapping yourself in plastic while throwing hot plastic down your throat. You are, for all intents and purposes, made of LEGO!
Some more overt ways of taking in plastic include sucking on a plastic straw or touching paint.
Our bodies constantly process toxins. Can they simply filter out plastics and associated chemicals? Experts say the issue is twofold. While our livers can filter toxins, continuous exposure can overwhelm them. The body might also break plastics down into even smaller particles instead of eliminating them, leading to persistent immune responses or autoimmune disorders. Furthermore, some chemicals are ‘forever chemicals’ that bind tightly and remain in the body for years, potentially interfering with endocrine function and fertility.
A treatment pill to eradicate these microplastics from our system would be ideal, but plastic was built to last. Like my brothers growing up, microplastics can resist water, heat, grease and oil, they are impossible to eliminate. Traits that make them useful in stain-resistant and waterproof fabrics, cookware, and food packaging
People that live more than most in a plastic world, are not The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills but athletes. Their sportswear, particularly sweat-wicking fabrics, contain a high number of microplastics and forever chemicals. Athletes also frequently consume plastic-bottled water and plastic-wrapped nutrition bars. It is for that reason, and that reason alone, I have decided not to become an Olympian.
Scientific examinations of human bodies have revealed microplastic accumulation predominantly in the GI tract, lungs, and urogenital tracts. The presence in the genital area might be linked to polyester underwear and sports leggings, a uniform worn by more than just athletes.
My shock-fact approach in this article is not to provoke fear, that can be paralyzing, my aim is to raise awareness of the health risk around plastics that we are not all cognizant of. Obsessing over risks can sometimes cause more stress than the perceived threat itself. I still have plastic in my home and, it seems, in my body (shocking fact!).
However, I am committed to making small, sustainable changes. My husband long ago eschewed plastic bottles for steel ones to contain water and coffee on the go. He asks himself: "If disposable plastic didn't exist, what would I need to bring to get through today?" I ask myself the same question, and my answer is always Valium. We’re all at different stages in our personal growth.
If you've already made lifestyle changes like switching from Teflon pans to skillets, plastic water bottles to steel canisters, or from plastic lunchboxes to glass, consider one more significant step: ditching plastic cutting boards for wooden ones. They are a major source of microplastics, especially as you press into them to cut, switch to wood and enjoy slicing into real food.
Another harbour of microplastics are beauty products, which concern me as a parent to a tween girl. It might be hard to break up with your favourite lotion or potion but do some research and make sure what you (or your child) are slathering on their face doesn't have a lifespan of 1,000 years.
Thanks to our adult protectors, and their lived experience, my generation learned to buckle up and enjoy smoke free air. Perhaps our gift to the next generation will be to pull them back from the brink of the plastic armageddon.
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