Tiny pieces of plastic have been found littered throughout human bodies, trapped in our lungs and laced through our blood, but the long-term health effects of this exposure remain unclear.
Every day humans ingest, inhale or otherwise come in contact with microplastics, plastic pollution less than five millimetres (0.2 inches) in diameter that is mostly invisible to the naked eye.
Microplastics have been found most everywhere on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains, as well as in the air, water, soil and food chain.
But in the last couple of years scientists have discovered microplastics not just throughout nature but also throughout human bodies, detecting it in lungs, livers — even in placentas.
Last year a Dutch study became the first to identify microplastics in human blood.
While scientists have urged caution due to the study’s small sample size, the presence of microplastics could suggest it is being transported through the bloodstream into organs.
But for now, the data remain incomplete on the health effects of microplastics, a complex cocktail of polymers and chemicals that could smuggle in other contaminants in what is called the “Trojan Horse” effect.