Study shows what new threat we face if we eat or drink products packaged in

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Study shows what new threat we face if we eat or drink products packaged in
Study shows what new threat we face if we eat or drink products packaged in
Anonim

Nowadays pollution is one of the biggest problems of mankind. Plastic bags "bloom" on trees, metal cans float in the oceans, dust particles float in the air, plastic objects roll on the streets, etc

And if until now we thought that the biggest problem from pollution was the destruction of nature and infections, now scientists have discovered something even more alarming, which in the future may prove fatal for humanity as a whole.

This is according to research presented by the Medical University of Vienna and the Federal Environment Agency of Austria, showing that small plastic particles have been found in the human body and specifically in feces.

Scientists asked eight elderly people in Austria, Great Britain, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Japan to keep a diary of what they ate during the week and to provide a stool sample.

It turned out that everyone ate or drank products packaged in plastic packaging or bottles. All eight people tested had plastic in their stool.

"In our laboratory we were able to detect nine different types of plastic ranging in size from 50 to 500 micrometres," says Bettina Liebmann, a researcher at the Environment Agency.

But in addition to humans, scientists have so far found microplastics in the digestive system, blood, lymph fluid and liver of animals as well.

However, the research team was unable to link the plastic particles found and the types of food the people in the experiment consumed.

Microplastic particles found include car tire shavings, construction waste and cosmetic ingredients.

For now, scientists are reassuring that the amounts in question should not harm human he alth, but more studies are needed to confirm this.

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