Microplastics in the air have already previously caused concern about how they affect our health. Small microplastic particles that are inhaled can penetrate the lungs and, among other things, affect the immune system. However, previous studies have focused on larger particles with a diameter of 10-20 micrometers, which are less likely to penetrate the lungs.
In apartments and cars
In a small study published in the journal Plos One, researchers at the University of Toulouse in France have analyzed air samples from their own apartments and cars. With the help of so-called Raman spectroscopy, they were able to measure the concentration of microplastics - even fragments in the size of one to ten micrometers.
The researchers then combined the results with previous figures on exposure to plastic particles indoors. They estimate that adults inhale 3,200 microplastic particles in the size of 10-300 micrometers and 68,000 particles of 1-10 micrometers every day - more than a hundred times more than previous calculations.
Breathe in thousands
The study's results suggest that the health risks of inhaling microplastics may be higher than previously thought, and the authors emphasize that more research is needed in the area.
"Everywhere we look, we find microplastics, even in the air we breathe in our homes and cars. The biggest problem is that the particles are so small that they are completely invisible to the naked eye. We inhale thousands of them every day without even noticing it. Deep inside our lungs, microplastics release toxic additives that reach our blood and cause several diseases," they write in a comment.
Microplastic is small pieces of plastic up to five millimeters. Nanoplastic is even smaller pieces, less than 100 nanometers.
Previously, it has been possible to establish that plastics cause diseases in birds and fish, such as stomach and intestinal problems, reproductive disorders, inflammation, and neurological disorders.
Even though no studies have been done on a larger scale in humans, the same trend has been seen in us. Plastics have been found in, among other things, lungs, breast milk, blood, and brains.
