breathing via mechanical lung . Despite the evidence his research provides — that plastic is getting inside of human bodies and could be harming us — modern health researchers have yet to systematically search for it in people and comprehensively study how having plastic particles around us and in us at all times might be affecting human health .
Vianello and Jes Vollertsen , a professor of environmental studies at Aalborg University explained that they ’ ve brought their findings to researchers at their university ’ s hospital for future collaborative research , perhaps searching for plastic inside human cadavers . “ We now have enough evidence that we should start looking for microplastic inside human airways ,” Vollertsen said . “ Until then , it ’ s unclear whether or not we should be worried that we are breathing in plastic .”
He speculated that some of the microplastic we breathe in could be expelled when we exhale . Yet even if that ’ s true , our lungs may hold onto much of the plastic that enters , resulting in damage .
Other researchers , like Joana Correia Prata , a PhD student at the University of Aveiro in Portugal , have highlighted the need for systematic research on the human health effects of breathing in microplastic . “ Microplastic particles and fibers , depending on their density , size , and shape , can reach the deep lung causing chronic inflammation ,” she said . People working in environments with high levels of airborne microplastics , such as those employed in the textile industry , often suffer respiratory problems , Prata has noted . The perpetual presence of a comparatively lower amount of microplastics in our homes has not yet been linked to specific ailments .
While they ’ ve dissected the bodies of countless nonhuman animals for decades , it ’ s only been a few years since scientists began exploring human tissues for signs of nano- and microplastic . This , despite strong evidence suggesting plastic particles — and the toxins that adhere to them — permeate our environment and are widespread in our diets . In the past decade , scientists have detected microplastic in the bodies of fish and shellfish ; in packaged meats , processed foods , beer , sea salt , soft drinks , tap