A small pilot study on eight volunteers showed that microparticles of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and other plastics can be found in a human chair. The results of the study were presented at the gastroenterological conference in Vienna; the press service of the conference organizers also talks about it..

Microscopic fragments of plastic less than five millimeters in size have already been found by scientists in the Arctic ice, jellyfish, seals feces, tap water, dust, salt, honey, beer and even mosquitoes. Humanity produces about 400 million tons of plastic per year, while processing does not take more than 20 percent - the rest of the plastic gets into the environment, where it breaks up into small particles that fall into food chains.

Philipp Schwabl from the Medical University of Vienna and his colleagues analyzed samples of eight research participants from Finland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom and Austria.. Microplastic was detected in all samples - in total, scientists counted nine types of plastic. On average, every 10 grams of feces could be found 20 microparticles ranging in size from 50 to 500 micrometers.

"This is the first of its kind research, and it confirms what we have long suspected - that plastic eventually reaches the human intestine. It is especially important to understand what this means, in particular, for patients with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.. Animal studies have shown that although the highest concentration of microplastic is observed in the intestine, the smallest particles can enter the blood and lymph and can even reach the liver, ”said Schwabl, whose words are given by the press office..

In addition to the feces, the experiment participants kept food diaries, analysis of which showed that they all ate food packed in plastic or drank water from plastic bottles. Six out of eight people also ate sea fish - according to various estimates, up to five percent of all plastic falls into the ocean..

Scientists hope that they will be able to obtain funding for a larger study, which, in particular, will allow to estimate how much plastic can remain in the human body, and not leave it with excrement.

nplus1. ru.

Keywords:.