Sorry, due to website restrictions we are unable to display the requested page. New research has found evidence of plastic in the bloodstream of humans for the first time. Microplastics, microscopic pieces of plastic, have been found in water, air, fish and foods. Microplastics occur from the breakdown santos food paints and plastic products, including single-use objects such as plates and shopping bags.

And we know so because researchers have just found microscopic plastic particles flowing in our bloodstream for the first time. Previous research had found we inhale and ingest enough microscopic pieces of plastic to create a credit card each week. But until now, scientists didn’t know whether those particles were entering the bloodstream. Dick Vethaak, professor of ecotoxicology, water quality and health at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Hague, the Netherlands, told USA TODAY. Vethaak is among the authors of a study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Environment International. Netherlands-based donors who participated in the study.

Of course, knowing there is plastic in the blood of many people just leads to more questions for researchers to tackle. What lies beyond our solar system? The great unmasking: COVID is ‘not over,’ but CDC says most of America don’t need masks. We have to find out where are these particles traveling. Do they accumulate in certain organs? The second most commonly found plastic in the samples: polystyrene, which is used to make a wide variety of common household products including disposable bowls, plates and food containers, and what we call styrofoam.

The third most likely plastic found in subjects’ blood was polyethylene, a material regularly used in the production of paints, sandwich bags, shopping bags, plastic wrap and detergent bottles, and in toothpaste. Polypropylene, used in making food containers and rugs, was also found in subjects’ blood, but at concentrations too low for an accurate measurement. 5 trillion pounds will be produced worldwide. Plastic flowing into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes will increase from 11 million metric tons in 2016 to 29 million metric tons annually in 2040, the equivalent of dumping 70 pounds of plastic waste along every foot of the world’s coastline, according to research from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

You eat or breathe in about 2,000 tiny plastic particles each week, the World Wildlife Federation found in a 2019 study. Most are ingested from bottled water and tap water. That’s not much, but researchers only searched for a few plastic polymers. And plastic particles may be in different concentrations in different parts of the body.

Could they help cancers develop or grow? Vethaak and other researchers say in a separate article published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Exposure and Health. The problem is becoming more urgent with each day. More foods including fruits and vegetables may contain microplastics too. Previous research found that infants may ingest 10 times the amount of microplastics that adults do, based on a 2021 study comparing adult and infant feces. Microplastics will continue to spread because plastic production is only increasing, said Jo Royle, CEO of Common Seas, an organization targeting plastic pollution in the oceans.