According to scientists from the University of Ghent in Belgium, microplastics accumulate in the body over time and could pose a long-term health risk. Microplastics are small plastic particles in the environment that are generally smaller than 1 mm (0.039 in) down to the micrometre range.
Coming from a variety of sources, including cosmetics, clothing, and industrial processes, two classifications of microplastics that currently exist are primary microplastics which are manufactured and are a direct result of human material and product use; and secondary microplastics, which are microscopic plastic fragments derived from the breakdown of larger plastic debris like the macroscopic parts that make up the bulk of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
However, both types persist in the environment at high levels, particularly in aquatic and marine ecosystems. Because plastics do not break down for many years, they can be ingested and incorporated into and accumulated in the bodies and tissues of many organisms.
The researchers noted that the amount of plastic absorbed will only get worse as pollution in the oceans increases, the ‘newsmaxHealth’ reported. Reacting to the development, Lead researcher, Dr. Colin Janssen, said, “Now we’ve established that they do enter our body and can stay there for quite a while; we do need to know the fate of the plastics.” “Where do they go? Are they encapsulated by tissue and forgotten about by the body, or are they causing inflammation or doing other things?
“Are chemicals leaching out of these plastics and then causing toxicity? We don’t know and actually we do need to know.”
We've long known that the fish we eat are exposed to toxic chemicals in the rivers, bays and oceans they inhabit. The substance that's gotten the most attention — because it has shown up at disturbingly high levels in some fish — is mercury.
But mercury is just one of a slew of synthetic and organic pollutants that fish can ingest and absorb into their tissue. Sometimes it's because we're dumping chemicals right into the ocean. But as a study published recently in Nature, Scientific Reports helps illuminate, sometimes fish get chemicals from the plastic debris they ingest.
"The ocean is basically a toilet bowl for all of our chemical pollutants and waste in general," says Chelsea Rochman, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, who authored the study. "Eventually, we start to see those contaminants high up in the food chain, in seafood and wildlife."
For many years, scientists have known that chemicals will move up the food chain as predators absorb the chemicals consumed by their prey. That's why the biggest, fattiest fish, like tuna and swordfish, tend to have the highest levels of mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other dioxins. (And that's concerning, given that canned tuna was the second most popular fish consumed in the U.S. in 2012, according to the National Fisheries Institute.)
Most of this sea foods are imported into West African Countries including Nigeria, where they are used as staple foods in most homes. With the recent research findings, analysts say a thorough awareness campaign has to be carried out to sensitize the general public on the dangers posed by this sea foods. WHO, people feel, should also step up its campaign against marine pollution in other to save humanity from a collapse of the marine food chain.
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