Are Microplastics Harmful to Human Health?

Check out this answer from Consensus:

Microplastics are a ubiquitous environmental contaminant with potential health risks for humans. Exposure occurs through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact, leading to oxidative stress, inflammation, and chemical toxicity. While there is evidence of potential health effects, including immune responses and respiratory issues, significant knowledge gaps remain. Further research is essential to quantify exposure levels and understand the full impact of microplastics on human health.

Microplastics, tiny plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, have become a pervasive environmental contaminant. Their presence in food, water, air, and consumer products has raised concerns about their potential impact on human health. This synthesis explores the current understanding of the health risks associated with microplastic exposure.

Key Insights

• Exposure Pathways:
  • Humans are exposed to microplastics through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact due to their presence in food, water, air, and consumer products1 3 4 6 7.
• Toxicity Mechanisms:
  • Microplastics can cause toxicity through oxidative stress, inflammatory lesions, and increased uptake or translocation within the body1 3 4 6.
  • Chronic inflammation and increased risk of neoplasia (new, abnormal tissue growth) may result from the immune system’s inability to remove synthetic particles3 4.
• Chemical and Microbial Hazards:
  • Microplastics can release harmful chemical substances, including additives like bisphenol A (BPA) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), as well as adsorbed environmental pollutants and pathogenic organisms4 6 9 10.
• Potential Health Effects:
  • Evidence suggests that microplastics may provoke immune and stress responses, and induce reproductive and developmental toxicity7 9.
  • Inhalation of airborne microplastics can lead to respiratory issues, including airway and interstitial inflammatory responses, particularly in susceptible individuals5.
• Knowledge Gaps:
  • There is a significant lack of data on the exposure levels and toxicokinetics of microplastics in humans, making it difficult to perform reliable risk assessments2 6 8 10.
  • Most studies have focused on model organisms, and more rigorous clinical studies are needed to understand the implications for human health7 8.

 

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Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Jill Bartolotta has answered Likely

An expert from Ohio State University in Marine Ecology, Education, Social Sciences, Environmental Science

Yes. Microplastics negatively affect our gut health and endocrine system.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Chris Wilcox has answered Likely

An expert from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Marine Science, Ecology

Potentially, but our ingestion is mostly from our environment (eg carpet fibers in air) not from wild fish.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Brian Johnston has answered Uncertain

An expert from University of Wolverhampton in Cell Biology, Biotechnology, Microbiology

Microplastics are a relatively new issue for humans and more study is needed to fully understand the issues associated with long term exposure.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Irene Barguilla has answered Likely

An expert from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Genetics, Toxicology

Micro- and nanoplastic have been found to enter the human body. Also, these particles translocate through physiological barriers (gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts), and exert a mild, yet relevant, impact at different levels: cytotoxicity, ROS generation, DNA damage, and pro-inflammatory response alterations; as described using diverse in vitro and ex vivo human models. Nonetheless, many questions remain to be answered to effectively perform risk assessment regarding plastic exposure. Further research is required to evaluate the likely long-term exposure effects and the potential impact of plasticizers, plastic additives or other pollutants that can adsorb onto micro- and nanoplastic surface (doi: 10.1080/10937404.2019.1700598).

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Sahar Seif has answered Likely

An expert from Carleton University in Environmental Science

They are more harmful that plastics via surface area effect. Meaning, the greater surface area, the increased exposure to components and additives of petroleum plastics.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Josefa Domenech has answered Uncertain

An expert from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Toxicology, Microbiology

This is a question that remains open. There is evidence of plastic causing oxidative stress and inflammation in different human-derived cells and the demonstrated ability of plastic particles to cross body barriers such as the intestinal barrier is alarming. Other studies in rodent models indicate the accumulation of plastic particles in organs such as liver or intestine, which could trigger long-term effects. However, more research and human biomonitoring studies is required to draw conclusions and to do a risk assessment.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Sharon George has answered Uncertain

An expert from Keele University in Environmental Science

It is uncertain if microplastics are harmful to human health but this is of concern as we see microplastic concentrations rising in our environment, in the water we drink, the food we eat and even the air we breathe. So far, despite microplastics having negative effects on the health of other organisms, the concentrations humans are exposed to, have not yet been shown to have a negative health effect. Microplastics have not been in our environment at this level long enough for long-term and targeted in-depth studies to be done.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Jenifer Panizzon has answered Uncertain

An expert from Feevale University in Environmental Science

There is not enough knowledge to attest the real risk of microplastics to human health. We know that microplastics can cause several physical and chemical, physiological, and biological effects, but we still need further studies.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Joana C Prata has answered Likely

An expert from University of Aveiro in Toxicology, Chemistry

So far, there is no evidence for direct adverse effects on human health. However, there can be indirect effects. For instance, plastic pollution in beaches can reduce tourism, and thus compromise the livelihood of communities, and consequently their nutrition or access to healthcare.https://www.sapea.info/topics/microplastics/

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146094

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Carla Elliff has answered Uncertain

An expert from University of Sao Paulo in Oceanography, Climatology

Research on the topic is still very new but advancing rapidly. It is clear that we are inhaling and ingesting microplastics daily. Similar to the case of chemical additives leaching out from microwaved plastic containers, it might be the case that the actual plastics are not the greatest threat here but rather what these plastic particles carry with them. Another question that needs further investigation regards in what tissues do microplastics mostly accumulate in the human body and what could be the consequences of this.

See more regarding the accumulation of microplastics in our bodies at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c07384

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Britta Denise Hardesty has answered Uncertain

An expert from Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Biology, Marine Ecology, Ecology, Plant Ecology

There is a lot of focus and concern about this issue, and for good reason. It may be worth taking a precautionary approach to the topic, in the absence of clear, direct scientific evidence of actual demonstrated harm to humans from ingesting plastic. There is a growing body of literature on the topic, though there is increasingly a call for evidence (rather than the speculation that we see in the scientific literature).

A recent study found that airborne plastics can be inhaled and may induce lesions in the respiratory tract. Plastic additives, including softeners are known to be endocrine disruptors. We don’t know as much about actual harm caused by plastics crossing epithelial barriers in the airway, GI tract and skin, for instance. It’s likely that ingestion and inhalation of plastics may harm cells or induce inflammatory and/or immune responses.

A recent paper in Science by Dick Vethaak and Juliette Legler called “Microplastics and human health” is worth a read.

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Alethia Vazquez-Morillas has answered Uncertain

An expert from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Environmental Science, Engineering

We still don’t know. There is evidence that microplastics enter our body by inhalation, in the water or the food that we consume. It has been estimated that an adult can ingest up to 883 microplastics per day (Lifetime Accumulation of Microplastic in Children and Adults | Environmental Science & Technology (acs.org)). If we ingest them, they will go through our digestive system, and if we inhale them, they will go to our respiratory system. They could remain there or leave our bodies as a result of our metabolic processes. 

However, there is no clear answer regarding how they could affect our organisms in the short and long term. Microplastics could introduce to our bodies pollutants or pathogens adhered to their surface and also leach some of their additives that they contain. Experiments with marine species have shown that nanoplastics could translocate, i.e., move from the digestive system into other parts of the body. The impact on human health has not been measured directly. It would be challenging to isolate the effect of microplastics from that of the multiple chemical agents that we are in contact with every day. 

So, as we are not sure of the magnitude or type of harm, our best shot is trying to prevent their dissemination in the environment. 

 

Are microplastics harmful to human health?

Ece Topuzlu has answered Uncertain

An expert from Janssen in Biochemistry

It is well established that microplastics enter into human body in various ways. Their effects, however, remain a topic that isn’t fully understood. Current research shows that microplastics may have negative impacts on mainly our digestive, respiratory, reproductive and nervous systems. Phthalates, which are a part of plastics, can cause hormonal problems. We need more research into the effects to understand the full scope of the situation.