Understanding the Unknown: The Current State of Microplastics’ Impact on Human Health

How to Find Out If Microplastics Are Actually Destroying Our Health

While researchers have yet to find evidence that proves plastic pollution is bad for your health, it’s probably because there have been no human trials. The absence of a standard practice for measuring and analyzing micro- and nanoplastics in biological samples is indeed an unfortunate fact that could be attributed to the complexity of this task.

As the world grapples with the immense issue of plastic pollution, researchers have found plastic in almost every corner of the human body, from our brains and poop to blood and testicles. The question is whether this plastic contamination is detrimental to our health. However, we are yet to find a definitive answer, because there haven’t been any human trials conducted so far.

Some research has linked microplastics to health complications, which isn’t nearly enough to confirm their impact on human health. Therefore, what we need now are protocols for analyzing the polymer types and shapes, as well as the surface characteristics of these micro- and nanoplastics.

The current situation is a headache due to the lack of standard practice in this area.

Source: gizmodo.com