So what does that\nmean for human health?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIn its first ever report on the issue, the WHO says\nmicroplastics do not appear to pose a health risk at current levels, but adds\nthat much more research is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microplastics in\n‘every studied animal’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microplastics are\n‘littering’ riverbeds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microplastics threat\nto ocean giants<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Proper studies into plastics in water only really began in\nthe last couple of years, so the evidence available so far is, the WHO admits,\nlimited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is more, the studies undertaken were not standardised,\nwith different researchers using different filters to assess the number of\nplastic particles present in different water sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“To say one source of water has 1000 microparticles per\nlitre and another has only one, could simply be dependent on the filter size\nused,” explained Dr Gordon. “We’re basically at a point where the\nstudy methods were quite weak.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless Dr Gordon does say the available research\nshould be “pretty reassuring” for human consumers. The WHO says the\nevidence suggests that all larger plastic particles, and most of the smaller\nones, simply pass through the body without being absorbed at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What should be done?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nProper waste water treatment, involving the removal of\nfaecal content and chemicals, should, the WHO says, also remove more than 90%\nof microplastics. That is why the WHO’s recommendations in the wake of this\nreport do not include routine checks for microplastics in water. Instead, the\nWHO wants drinking water suppliers and regulators to concentrate on “known\nrisks”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Two billion people drink water that is faecally\ncontaminated,” said Dr Gordon. “And that causes one million deaths a\nyear. That has got to be the focus.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless the WHO views plastic pollution as an urgent\nproblem. It advises reducing the use of plastics wherever possible, and improving\nrecycling programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How limited is the\nresearch?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe key message of this initial report is really how much we\ndon’t know about the consequences of plastic pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some studies suggest that bottled water contains more\nmicroplastics than tap water, but it is not clear why. It could be a\ncontaminated source water, but it could also be the plastic polymers used to\nmake the bottles and bottle caps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And although the available evidence suggests the health\nrisks associated with ingesting microplastics, and the chemicals associated\nwith them, are minimal, the studies so far contain significant data gaps, which\nneed to be corrected in future research, according to the report’s co-author\nJennifer de France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We need to know the number of particles that have been\ndetected, the size of these particles, the shapes, as well as the chemical\ncomposition,” she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So this report on the health consequences of microplastics\nis likely to be the first of many. Because microplastics are present not just\nin water, they are in the air, and in our food. In the next few years, the WHO\nwould like to see a report looking at what this “total environmental\nexposure” means for our health as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Effects of\nMicroplastics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMicroplastics contain chemicals that might probably hurt organs\nlike flame retardants, or cause injuries many diseases. Even less is thought\nNanoscale plastic particles can cause epithelial duct as just microscopic\nparticles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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