Top 5 Scariest Plastic Studies
Author: John M.
1. A plastic spoon in the brain
Microplastics and nanoplastics are in our brains. One study suggests that the cumulative amount of plastic in an adult brain is equivalent to a single plastic spoon. Perhaps more concerningly, plastic levels in human brains increased dramatically over recent years.¹
2. Carotid artery plaques with plastics are more deadly
If you have a carotid artery blockage and the plaque contains micro/nanoplastics, then you are more likely to later have a heart attack, stroke, or die.²
Reproduced with permission from the Massachusetts Medical Society and the New England Journal of Medicine, Copyright 2024.
Electron Microscopy Analysis of Atheromatous Plaque.
Panel A shows transmission electron microscopy images of particles of high internal electron transparency contoured by a very thin electron opaque line. These particles do not resemble usual organic material owing to their particularly irregular shape. These particles (arrows) were detected inside living macrophages and outside in the amorphous material of the plaque (arrows). Panel B shows images of the same specimen obtained with scanning electron microscopy using back-scattered electrons, which showed macrophages dispersed in the amorphous plaque material (arrows) and small particles of low-reflecting material contoured by a thin line of high-reflecting material identified in the plaque (red boxes).
(reprinted with permission from NEJM and the Massachusetts Medical Society)
3. We are inhaling micro/nanoplastics constantly, even when outdoors!
Scientists estimate that infants are most affected. Indoor air had significantly more plastic particles, followed by outdoor urban air and outdoor roadside air.³
4. A garbage truck worth of plastic is dumped into the ocean, every minute
The amount of plastic waste that enters our oceans is unfathomable. The equivalent of a garbage truck load - every minute. This causes incredible harm to marine wildlife, the ecosystem, and ultimately to humans.⁴
5. The numbers say it all:
Microwaving plastic containers for three minutes “could release as many as 4.22 million microplastic and 2.11 billion nanoplastic particles from only one square centimeter of plastic area (this is smaller than a dime).”⁵
Sources
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Marfella R, Prattichizzo F, Sardu C, Fulgenzi G, Graciotti L, Spadoni T, D'Onofrio N, Scisciola L, La Grotta R, Frigé C, Pellegrini V, Municinò M, Siniscalchi M, Spinetti F, Vigliotti G, Vecchione C, Carrizzo A, Accarino G, Squillante A, Spaziano G, Mirra D, Esposito R, Altieri S, Falco G, Fenti A, Galoppo S, Canzano S, Sasso FC, Matacchione G, Olivieri F, Ferraraccio F, Panarese I, Paolisso P, Barbato E, Lubritto C, Balestrieri ML, Mauro C, Caballero AE, Rajagopalan S, Ceriello A, D'Agostino B, Iovino P, Paolisso G. Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events. N Engl J Med. 2024 Mar 7;390(10):900-910
Eberhard T, Casillas G, Zarus GM, Barr DB. Systematic review of microplastics and nanoplastics in indoor and outdoor air: identifying a framework and data needs for quantifying human inhalation exposures. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024 Mar;34(2):185-196.
Jambeck JR, Geyer R, Wilcox C, Siegler TR, Perryman M, Andrady A, Narayan R, Law KL. Marine pollution. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science. 2015 Feb 13;347(6223):768-71.
Huang X, Wang B, Fernandez-Ballester L, Lu Y, Schubert M, Li Y. Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health. Environ Sci Technol. 2023 Jul 4;57(26):9782-9792.
