A person eats, drinks and breathes between 78,000 and 211,000 microplastic particles (plastic particles that measure less than five millimeters) per year. The “Human Consumption of Microplastics” research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, presents an analysis of 26 studies from around the world and calculates the average amount of microplastics found in common consumables such as water, beer, sugar and salt, among others.
Science has been studying microplastics for a quarter of a century, and it is known that the particles can be transported throughout the body through the blood supply, but how harmful are they to the body? Various studies have shown that microplastics cause allergic reactions and cell death, but until now there have been no epidemiological studies documenting, in a large group of people, a correlation between the consumption of microplastics and health problems.
The largest amount of microplastics enters the body through bottled water. According to four different studies, the average number of particles per liter is 94. Beer ranks second, with 32, but third is the most alarming: air inhaled by humans, according to two studies carried out in France and Turkey contains an average of 9.80 microplastic particles per m³. For reference, the EPA Manual of Exposure Factors indicates that a person between the ages of 31 and 51 inhales an average of 16 m³ of air per day.
Source: Statista.
Source: inncontext.net