Reducing the Dangers of Microplastics 

By Okey Ikechukwu

The subject of microplastics, those tiny, invisiblepieces of plastic in circulation all around us, became the subject of some protracted discussion among a few scientifically minded individuals about a week ago. I was invited to the meeting because of an article titled “Tremble, Microplastics on the Prowl”, which appeared on this page on 24^th February last year. The event was necessitated by overwhelming contemporaryscientific evidence, showing two things, namely: (1) That microplastics can be found in practically everyorgan in the body; especially in places no one expectsto find them; (2) That we need to make some lifestyle changes, for our own good as individuals. 

Let us consider the following. Natural materials like wood and wood derivatives like paper, break down into the soil and get converted into minerals, in obedient to the laws of nature. But it is not so with plastics. They do not break down into the soil, to become organic natural nutrients and substances that are readily reintegrated into the cycle of being. Plastic do not break down completely into soil. They break down in the soil, but not as part of the soil.

Imagine what happens, when you bury used plastic materials in a landfill site, or expose it to the atmosphere or weeks or months. The plastic material breaks down into nano and microscopic particles. Some of these sinks into the soil. Some get taken up by the wind, to be dispersed and for us to inhale without knowing it. But much of it also gets carried around, in the immediate environment and everywhere, on the planet. 

A recent report from the organization PlastChem showsthat there are not less than 16,000 chemicals in the different types of plastic we use regularly all over the world. Worse still, over 4,200 of these chemicals are dangerous to human health and the environment. And they are everywhere. Yes, everywhere!

Deep underground water tables, the Arctic permafrost, the flesh and internal organs of marine and terrestrial animals, the vegetables and forest plants play host to this ubiquitous affliction. So, there is hardly anything we can pick up and eat without getting some microplastics into our system. That is why we now have it in all our organs. It was when researchers discovered microplastics in every organ, including arterial plaque, the human bloodstreams, and the placenta of babies, as mentioned in the earlier referenced article, that everyone switched on Panic Mode. 

Microplastics can get into our bodies because of the broken-down plastics entering our bodies through the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. We use plastic wraps and containers for storage and all sorts of things. The bits that “disengage” due to oxidation or other causes end up in our body. And this raises two important questions at this point: (1) Can we completely get rid of plastics and microplastics in our lives? (2) Are there measures we can take to minimize the perceived damage and health risk associated with microplastic invasion of the human body?

To the first question, the answer is ‘no right away’. To the second question, the answer is ‘yes’. This would mean limiting, or at least minimizing the number and type of plastic products we use in our daily lives. It is now officially estimated, based on current research findings, including the submissions of researchers at the University of New Mexico, that plastic particles accumulating in human brains has increased by 50% in the last eight years. Now, that says a lot. Because it means that foreign bodies are accumulating in this location that helps us to make sense of the world around us. 

Some budding research has confirmed the negative health impacts of microplastics, especially the fact that some chemicals added during plastic production has been linked to such conditions as endocrine system disruption and heart disease. It has also been confirmed that people with dementia had up to 10 times moreplastic in their brains than those who have no such debility.

Strange as it may sound, microplastics can leach through the skin. Yes! So, watch out: your lotions, shampoos and much more may be doing you in quietly based on this composition; especially as some of them contain petroleum-derived ingredients. We should be aware that for every plastic-based container we use for one purpose or the other, for every body-beautyaccessory, for sundry beauty product and food item out there, we stand a relatively high chance of getting into our body something that the body is incapable of breaking down; and which will add to general environmental microplastic pollution. 

One way out is avoid eating anything that remotely traceable to plastic contact and contamination. has touched plastic. Just minimize your chances of getting some microplastic into your system, by staying away from so many plastic-related things. Think of your toothbrush, makeup accessories, including face powder and others. Now, tell me who is going to listen to any talk about shedding these everyday accessories. Listen, many ladies will come for you! 

Avoid the use plastics-based cooking utensils if you can. Reduce the chances of plastic-based utensils inflicting themselves on your food and other edibles. This includes our beloved plastic cutting boards. They easily deposits microplastics into the meat, vegetablesand whatever food you are cutting up. A serious project of de-plasticizing our lives involves a lot that we are not likely to be comfortable with.

Think of our now-popular crockery, cookware and utensils. It is matter of scientific record, as published in 2024 by researchers in Europe and the United Kingdom, for instance, that nonstick pans, are star sources of microplastics. This is especially with reference to older versions of these kitchen and cooking accessories, with worn or pealing coatings. So, watch out as you flip those eggs, or stir your massive pots of soup with plastic-depositing accessories. 

Lest we forget, these materials can, and do, introduce unhealthy and arguably toxic substances to our food – and into our bodies. Think also of all the flame retardants we use regularly here, which have since been banned in the US, even if only recently. It is back to the good old cast iron utensils, metal, or ceramic cookware, wooden accessories, silicone, or other metal-based wares. In all of this, that is while switching to de-plasticization, we are to avoid using metal on ceramic materials, since such will scratch the ceramic coating and expose something else. 

Away with plastic containers, then! Glass, or metal, would be ideal as replacement when thinking of food storage facilities. Try chewing stick, bamboo toothbrush and silk floss for your teeth. Last year some Indian researchers discovered that plastic toothbrushes and plastic floss shed some microplastics as a matter of course. They also found out that, when assessed against other products, toothbrushes had the highest number of microplastics, at 30 to 120 particles per brush. Some of the particles were found to be small enough to be considered nanoplastics. And the smaller a particle is, the easier it is to become lodged in tissues. 

Non-Plastic Reusable Water Bottles, for instance,reduce microplastic exposure; as studies have shown that a people in an urban area who drink bottled water regularly may consume more than 200,000 nanoplastic particles in one liter of bottled water. It was also found that much of the nanoplastics in bottled was there before the bottling process. And that the plastic packaging only made its own fair contribution to the overall volume of nanoplastics. 

Since clothing materials like polyester, nylon, acrylic, and spandex are all plastic-based fabrics, it is easy to understand that bits of the plastic would penetrate the human body through the skin. Since, also, such particles do not subsequently break down and get thrown off, washing the materials introduces some of the plastic into the water systems when they are washed. What are we to expect in the next few years?

Danger looms for all humanity, because of the wide and continuous penetration of microplastics into our bodies and our environment. As pointed out in the aforementioned article of last years, “A relatively recent study published in the journal Toxicological Sciences by a team led by Matthew Campen, reported finding microplastics in all 62 donated placenta samples tested. The most readily available polymer in the placental tissue they were experimenting with was polyethylene. This is the thing used for the manufacturing of plastic bags and plastic bottles. It was found to constitute 54% of the total plastics detected in the sample human placenta.

A poison does not become a threat to life until it has built up to a lethal dose. As things stand now, we may well be building up enough microplastics in our bodies to create physiological, or even possibly also physiognomic, Armageddon. And the phenomenal increase in the use of plastics all over the world, over the last six decades, has translated into millions of metric tons of plastic waste. This is a general environmental hazard, a specific threat to natural waterways, and also an emerging menace to plant and animal life”. 

Also as observed here last year: “While it is true that plastics, over time, break down from exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, as well as other agents of chemical denudation, it is also true that this only accentuates the problem. Some of the plastic ends up aerosolized, making them part of the combination of gases and radiations in the air we breath. Some of it also seeps down into natural water tables and become part of the groundwater we later pump up to drink”. 

It continued: “Many plastic products take between 50 and 300 years to fully degrade into simple elements and original compounds. The question here for us are these: (1) How long will it take the microplastics everywhere today to fully degrade? What will be happening to us and our environment as this business of being degraded is going on? Is the global health community paying attention? What is not clear, as I write, is what damage it is doing to us and what possibly unmanageable health problems it is brewing without our knowing”. 

In sum, it is rationally impossible to have the growing concentrations of microplastics in living human tissues without consequences. As we rose from the aforementioned meeting, my take was that the dangers posed by microplastics are too real to be ignored. He who has ears….