Microplastics Found Deep in Lungs ofLiving People For First Time

何美兰

Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodgeddeep in the lungs of living people for the first time. The particleswere found in almost all the samples analysed.

The scientists said microplastic pollution was nowubiquitous across the planet， making human exposure unavoidableand meaning“there is an increasing concern regardingthe hazards”to health.

Samples were taken from tissue removed from 13 patientsundergoing surgery and microplastics were found in11 cases. The most common particles were polypropylene，used in plastic packaging and pipes， and PET， used in bottles.Two previous studies had found microplastics at similarlyhigh rates in lung tissue taken during autopsies.

People were already known to breathe in the tiny particles，as well as consuming them via food and water. Workersexposed to high levels of microplastics are also knownto have developed disease.

Microplastics were detected in human blood for thefirst time in March， showing the particles can travel aroundthe body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health isas yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as micro-plastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory andair pollution particles are already known to enter the bodyand cause millions of early deaths a year.

“We did not expect to find the highest number of particlesin the lower regions of the lungs， or particles of the sizeswe found，”said Laura Sadofsky at Hull York medicalschool in the UK， a senior author of the study.“It is surprisingas the airways are smaller in the lower parts of the lungsand we would have expected particles of these sizes to befiltered out or trapped before getting this deep.”

“This data provides an important advance in the fieldof air pollution， microplastics and human health，”she said.The information could be used to create realistic conditionsfor laboratory experiments to determine health impacts.

A 2021 study in Brazil on autopsy samples found microplasticsin 13 of the 20 people analysed. Polyethylene，used in plastic bags， was one of the most common particles.

A US study of lung cancer patients in 1998 found plasticand plant fibres （such as cotton） in more than 100 samples.In cancerous tissue， 97% of samples contained the fibresand in non-cancerous samples， 83% were contaminated.

Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment，and microplastics contaminate the entire planet，from the summit of Qomolangma to the deepest oceans. Microplasticshave been found in the placentas of pregnantwomen， and in pregnant rats they pass rapidly through thelungs into the hearts， brains and other organs of the foetuses.

科學家首次在活人肺部深处发现微塑料污染。这些微塑料颗粒出现在几乎所有接受分析的样本中。

科学家指出，微塑料污染如今在地球上无所不在，不可避免地会殃及人类，这意味着微塑料造成的健康风险“引发的担忧与日俱增”。

科学家从13名接受手术的患者体内切下的组织中获取了样本，并在其中11例样本中发现了微塑料。最常见的微塑料是用于塑料包装和管道的聚丙烯以及用于制作塑料瓶的聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯。先前的两项研究发现，微塑料也同样广泛地出现在尸检时切下的肺组织中。

众所周知，人们会吸入小颗粒物，并会通过食物和水摄入微塑料。据悉，暴露在大量微塑料环境中的工人会因此而得病。

今年三月科学家首次在人类血液中检测到微塑料，这表明微塑料可以在人体内游走并在器官里沉积。目前尚不明确血液中的微塑料对健康的影响。但是研究人员对此感到担忧，因为微塑料会损伤实验室环境中的人体细胞，而且众所周知，空气污染颗粒物会进入人体，每年导致数百万人早逝。

该研究的资深作者、英国赫尔约克医学院的劳拉·萨多夫斯基说：“我们没想到会在肺部深处发现这么多微塑料，也没想到微塑料的颗粒会这么大。

这很令人惊讶，因为肺部深处的气道更窄，我们以为这么大颗粒的微塑料在进入肺部深处前会被过滤掉或被卡在外面。”

她说：“这些数据是空气污染、微塑料和人类健康领域的一个重要进展。”该信息可用于打造接近现实的实验条件，以确定微塑料对健康的影响。

2021年巴西的一项研究发现，在分析的20例尸检样本中发现13例样本含有微塑料。用于塑料袋的聚乙烯是这些样本中最常见的微塑料之一。

1998年美国对肺癌患者的一项研究发现，在100 多个样本中发现了塑料和植物纤维（比如棉花），分别有97%的癌组织样本和83%的非癌组织样本含有这些纤维。

海量的塑料垃圾被倾倒入环境中，微塑料污染了整个地球，从珠穆朗玛峰之巅到海洋最深处。科学家发现，微塑料甚至存在于孕妇的胎盘中，在怀孕的老鼠体内，微塑料可经由肺部快速进入胎儿的心脏、大脑和其他器官中。