Are Microplastics Killing Us?

Life with microplastics—it’s not fantastic.

Forget Atkins or keto. What is more concerning than indulging in a sugary snack or a taste of gluten: Adults are ingesting an estimated credit card’s worth of microplastics every week (really). And these sub-5mm microscopic fragments are polluting our environment and our bodies entirely unseen, loaded with chemicals that bring with them a host of potential problems. 

But avoiding plastic entirely isn’t an option. Read: Plastic is now everywhere—from the air we breathe and the water we drink to the food we eat and the clothes we wear. And, in turn, it’s showing up in our saliva, hair, blood and even brains. Translation: We are increasingly made of plastic. So what exactly are these substances doing to our bodies? And what—if anything—can we do to stop it?  

Fake Plastic Trees
The term “microplastic” was coined two decades ago in 2004 when researchers found an abundance of small rice-size plastic fragments along the UK coast. These tiny shards come from the degradation of larger plastic debris—so every time you see a soda bottle or plastic bag on the side of the road, it’s microplastics in the making.   

It wasn’t until recently that the now-buzzword became nonscientifically common. Alarm rose initially over the amount of plastic found in fish, leading Belgian scientists in 2017  to discover seafood lovers could be consuming up to 11,000 plastic particles a year.

Sushi isn’t the only culprit. Microplastics have been found in an absurdly long laundry list of food and bevs—and are sprinkled all over the environment, literally found everywhere from the bottom of the world’s deepest ocean trench to the peak of Mount Everest. An estimated 10 to 40 million metric tons of the inescapable fragments are released into the atmosphere each year—a number likely to double by 2040 if we keep treading down the same path. 

Now rampant, tiny plastic particles were found inside the lungs of surgical patients and in the blood of anonymous donors, according to a 2022 study. “When I started doing this work in 2014, the only studies being done involved looking for where they are,” says UK marine scientist Alice Horton. “We can stop looking now. We know wherever we look, we will find them.” That is, even in the unborn—we are now prepolluted, with microplastics prevalent in newborns, breast milk and placentas.

No Harm, No Foul? 
All this data and discovery begs the question: What are the implications behind life in plastic? While researchers don’t have all the details on the effects of plastic intake, most can agree they’re not positive, with some even sounding the alarm on microplastics as a public health crisis. 

But determining the net harm of microplastics proves difficult thanks to about 10,000 unique chemicals utilized/employed in plastics production, including additives that enable their strength and flexibility. Over 2,400 are of potential concern, per the California State Water Resources Control Board.

According to Dr. Imari Walker-Franklin, a research scientist at RTI International in Research Triangle Park, potential health risks associated with microplastic accumulation can impact digestive, reproductive and respiratory health. “There have also been suggested links to health harms including irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer, lung cancer, dementia and heart disease,” she told RM. Never mind these tiny fragments could potentially act as vessels for other health concerns to enter the body, such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. 

Moreover, how plastics are used can result in even further exposure. Synthetic fabrics (think lululemon leggings and faux leather jackets) often contain plastics and tend to shed and distribute microfibers from day-to-day wash and wear. 

“They are notoriously bad at degrading,” NC State Textile Engineering Department Head Emiel DenHartog told RM. “Over time, they’ll break up into smaller pieces—and that is where you will find synthetic fibers in the environment.” But research studying the decomposition of these fibers is accelerating, ensures the professor. The current lack of details on the effects of these fibers, flakes and foams doesn’t necessarily mean doomsday. But the onus is largely on us.