Microplastic can enter the human body through several ways, such as via breathing, digestion, and exposure to weathered plastic, Ecological Observation and Wetlands Conservation (ECOTON) researcher Eka Chlara Budiarti stated.

Budiarti told ANTARA here on Thursday that people can inhale microplastics not just in a room with weathered plastic furniture that spreads its flakes and powder but they can also come from our clothing.

These plastic particles, produced as a result of weathering, can enter our respiratory tract, as they are quite small, with some even reaching nanomilimeter in size.

In addition, microplastics can enter the human body through digestion when we consume food products, such as fish, that had been polluted with microplastics.

Meanwhile, exposure can occur when we touch weathered plastic material and miniscule plastic particles can enter through the pores.

Earlier, microplastic pollution had been found in the human blood.

Research published in the Environment International stated that researchers analyzed the blood samples of 22 people and found plastic particles in 80 percent of the people tested.

Half of the blood samples contained PET plastic, commonly used in packaged bottles as well as polystyrene usually found in food packaging.

“As to why they can enter the blood, it is because they are almost similar to our blood molecules and can be transferred through cell layers and cell membrane transport,” Budiarti explained.

The researcher cautioned that the entry of microplastics into our body can result in them settling inside our respiratory tract and other organs.

Microplastic, or nanoplastic, is a foreign substance within our body that cannot be digested or absorbed by the body and can cause irritation.

If left for too long, these plastic particles can cause tumor and even cancer.

Source: Antara News