Pollution is rapidly increasing day by day, whether it is environmental, water, noise, air, etc. but wait, I am not talking about these pollutions. Here I am talking about the plastic pollution that is also rapidly increasing across the Earth’s ecosystems and now it becomes a threat to humanity and wildlife. It widely impacts human health and the environment, and as a result, the outcome would be very harmful to the entire human population and the planet’s ecosystem.
And after discovering the microplastic in human blood, it means urgent action needed to be taken. The Researchers found tiny plastic particles, which are less than one-thousandth (1/1000th) of a millimeter in size, in almost 80% of the 22 people they tested. These small-sized plastic particles can travel through the entire body and could stick to our vital organs. These tiny particles could damage the cells and tissue of the body and cause big diseases like diabetes or cancer.
Even half of the collected blood samples of human blood contain PET plastic that is found in drinks and bottles, food packaging, and clothing too. One-third (1/3rd) contains the polystyrene that is found in packaging food and a quarter of polyethylene is used in plastic carrier bags. But the plastic levels and types varied between people and it is needed to be studied more.
One of the social enterprises is looking to stop plastic pollution, and he said, that we knew before that microplastics have been found in human placentas and organs. And the human body is not enough capable to break these particles further, so they can cause the inflammatory response which is associated with chronic disease. Science estimate that plastic takes more than 400 years to decompose and it may never do, and some data on microplastics in our seas show that even if plastic production would have stopped in 2020, the number of particles will reach approximately 1.5 million metric tons in weight by 2050. Oceans, lakes, and rivers could contain more than double the present amount of plastic pollution by the year 2030.
And the more ocean life would be under threat, as of the present day, due to water pollution, the more aquatic species are dying day by day, and the number might have increased rapidly in the future, the fish along with the plastic pollution present in the sea. The microplastics contaminate the seafood, and animals in the sea would not live. They are a major threat due to plastic pollution.
Microplastics, the breakdown of big or larger pieces of plastics and have spread throughout the natural world, from the polar caps to Mount Everest. We inhale them every day, every second, eat and drink them, and it is a larger issue for small babies and started the level of worrying. Scientists have also found that microplastics attract bacteria and parasites that cause some major diseases, transporting them from land to sea. These pathogens threaten both wildlife and human beings, ending up in our water and food. To stop this plastic pollution, researchers suggest that, attach filters to washing machines and dryers, better treatment of storms and wastewater, and stopping the plastic industries from releasing microplastics into the environment directly.
As it is the best way to reduce plastic pollution and prevent health problems is to make sure they don’t end up discarded in our environment in the first place. According to the research and data, the Oil and gas companies that supply plastic products have made billions of profits of almost $3 billion every day for the past 50 years by supplying plastic materials. The fossil fuel and petrochemical industry is planning to expand plastic output and double the production rate in the next 20 years.
Plastic is seen as a large threat as large as climate change and a UN treaty against pollution is the result, to reduce plastic pollution. The Natural products like fungi, plant materials, and even silk are offered as plastic alternatives, especially in food and product packaging. But the UN believes that we cannot simply recycle the way out of the problem. An immediate reduction and industry transformation are needed to reduce this.
The rate at which the human body absorbs plastics is faster than the rate we eliminate them, and that would be needing a planet-wide response.
