How the plastics could endanger your health

THE health implications of ingesting microplastics are not clear cut and leading science and medical experts have called for further research into the risks. But a range of studies shows the potentially harmful effects around the body.

When inhaled, microplastics can lodge deep in the lungs for weeks without disintegrating. This could lead to respiratory problems including coughing, wheezing and breathlessness, and eventually to lung damage, inflammation or scarring. A study has shown that people suffered from asthma, chronic bronchitis and pneumonia after working with airborne microplastic fibres.

Fibres from microplastic-contaminated food or drink would arrive in the stomach before travelling to the intestine. They could also disintegrate and pass through the lining of the gut.

Experts warn that microplastics could enter the blood stream or the lymph nodes – essentially transporting them anywhere inside the body. Microplastics have been shown to cause tissue damage and scarring.

There is potential for microplastics to accumulate in the kidneys, possibly blocking or poisoning them.

Chemicals in microplastics can leak out into the body. Studies have linked endocrine- disrupting chemicals found in them with an increase in testicular and breast cancer and a decrease in sperm counts.

A study has shown microplastics can travel across a mother’s placenta.