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ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
MEDICINE MEDICINE
MEDICINE

0.1mm. Emerging research has shown microplastics have pervaded the sumer report has put forward a few simple measures to decrease the
human environment and various ecosystems. As the above-mentioned amount of ingested microplastics.4
paper showed presence in clouds, microplastics have been identified in
house dust, indoor air, clothes we wear, water we drink and the food 1. Drink tap water and avoid bottled water.
we eat. Yes, microplastics have been seen inside chicken and fish meat. 2. Heat food in or on a stove and microwave in glass containers.
Increasingly, microplastics are being discovered in various human tis- Avoid microwaving in plastic containers.
sues (blood, liver, lung, kidney) and in breast milk.2 A recent NEJM 3. Buy and store food in glass, silicone or foil and avoid plastic containers.
paper created a stir by discovering microplastics in carotid plaque sam- 4. Eat fresh food and avoid processed food wrapped in plastic covers.
ples obtained during carotid endarterectomy.3 Carotid plaques are in 5. Vacuum household surfaces regularly along with dusting.
no direct connection to the environment and the microplastics dis-
covered in a plaque had to breach various physical barriers to enter the Beyond these personal changes in habits, be a good global citizen.
human body and circulate in the bloodstream for a significant duration The pervasiveness of plastic pollution is way beyond our immediate
of time, be ingested by macrophages and subsequently get incorporat- environment. Participate in public dialogue to decrease plastic usage
ed into a plaque (time scale is probably in years). and waste. Be part of the change to lead to a safer plastic-free life. The
Microplastics come from two predominant sources. Primary sourc- plastic we have generated will last a long way after our lifetime; we need
es will be various products that incorporate microplastics like various to provide a better environment for our future generations. The call for
beauty products such as cleansers and toothpaste. Secondary sources action STARTS NOW.
are where degradation and breakdown of plastics produce microplas-
tics (plastic containers and food wraps/pouches are an example). How
are microplastics able to invade human tissues? Ingestion is one of the
primary sources. Microplastics have permeated the ecosystem into the References:
food chain to be part of animal products like fish, shrimp and mussels. 1. Wang Y et al. Airborne hydrophilic microplastics in cloud water
Presence in soil leads to presence in agricultural products like apples at high altitudes and their role in cloud formation. Environ
and carrots. Water sources include tap water and bottled water, with Chem Lett 21, 3055–3062 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/
higher concentrations in bottled water. Plastic used for food packag- s10311-023-01626-x
ing leads to leaching into edible food. A single coffee bag can release 2. Li Y et al. Microplastics in the human body: A comprehensive
10,000 microparticles. Inhalation is another mode. Urban areas have review of exposure, distribution, migration mechanisms, and tox-
significant concentrations; indoor environments act as traps and show icity. Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jun 22;946:174215. doi: 10.1016/j.
higher amounts. Skin is another conduit and personal care products scitotenv.2024.174215. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38914339
are manufactured with microplastics. The small size of the micro- 3. Marfella R et al. Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Ather-
plastics and presence of any breakdown in skin will increase absorp-
omas and Cardiovascular Events. N Engl J Med. 2024 Mar
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere: tion into the human body. Once the particles enter the human body, 7;390(10):900-910. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2309822. PMID:
depending on size and nature, they can translocate into various tissues
38446676; PMCID: PMC11009876
Microplastics Within Human Bodies as revealed by their identification in various parts of the human viscera. 4. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/health-wellness/how-
to-eat-less-plastic-microplastics-in-food-water-a8899165110/
Any discerning scientific mind will ask the next question. What
effect will these microplastics have on the human body? Humans
evolved roughly around 200 to 300 thousand years ago, and the cur- Soma Jyothula, MD, FCCP, is a practicing pulmonary and
By Soma Jyothula, MD, FCCP rent generation is roughly 7,500 to 15,000 generations away from the critical care physician, and is the Chief of Pulmonary Medicine
founder population. As a species on a biological level, our bodies have and Lung Transplantation at Methodist Hospital. Dr. Jyothula
only encountered microplastics for the past couple of generations. The is a member of the Bexar County Medical Society and serves on
hopping with a teenage daughter means meandering into person- animal horns or natural rubber, plastics are partially or completely time span to develop adaptations is extremely short. Current literature the Publications Committee.
al beauty product stores without a clue about most of the prod- synthetic. Plastics are an integral component of modern human life. in animals shows various deleterious effects on animal biology. The
Sucts being sold and finding the closest bench to wait out the time. Its discovery and widespread use have led to the modern civilization NEJM paper showed that half the patients who had microplastics in
On one of those days, browsing through my favorite news website, I and lifestyle. Presence of plastic in soil sediments is considered one their plaques had a higher risk of death from cardiovascular events.
came across a news item describing a ban on use of microbeads in per- of the markers of the Anthropocene (human era) on the geological Microparticles increase inflammation in human tissues, contributing
sonal beauty products in the UK. This was followed by another article time scale. Plastics are ubiquitous in our life — they pervade our home, to chronic inflammation and diminishing the ability to fight patho-
on how microplastics were found in the clouds above Mount Fuji. 1 immediate environment, beaches, deepest depths of the oceans, the gens. Toxicity in lungs is dose, size and ligand dependent. The presence
After parsing through the actual article and seeing the robust manner highest peaks on planet earth and are an inviolable sign of human pol- of microplastics in breast milk is particularly frightening as exposure
the investigators collected the samples to minimize any contamination lution. Beyond being an eyesore, the same property which has made starts right with our first meal. Much research is to be done, but the
from terrestrial sources made me realize, we have plastic floating in the modern human life possible is also slowly choking it (inert and inde- signs from available evidence show that we will see a causative role in
air and within clouds at 12,000 feet above sea level (height of Mt Fuji is structible nature). The timescale for a plastic grocery bag to degrade is human disease with much more clarity in the future.
12,388 feet). Beyond the incredulity of the fact, the word which stuck in hundreds of years. Without sounding as an alarmist, we need to start taking steps to
me was microplastics. Microplastics are a different beast. Unlike the visible plastics prod- decrease our exposure to microplastics. At a policy level, the UK has
Plastics are defined in pure chemical terms as organic polymers ucts we see with the naked eye, they are microscopic. Their size varies already banned microbeads in personal beauty products. We ingest
(chains of organic molecules). Unlike natural polymers like hair, nails, from 5mm to 0.005mm. For perspective, human hair breath is around about a credit card-sized amount of microplastics in a week. The con-

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