Babies Have 10 Times More Microplastics In Their Poop Than Adults, Study Finds | Scientific and technological news

Microplastics, tiny fragments of plastic less than 5mm in size, are a hidden form of pollution known to contaminate the world’s rivers and oceans – and now, scientists say, the human digestive system.

And according to a new pilot study, the stools of infants contain up to 10 times higher concentrations of a microplastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET) than adults.

Samples from adults and infants contained about the same average level of polycarbonate (PC) microplastics, according to research published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters of the American Chemical Society.

The new study, by authors who have received both U.S. and Chinese government funding, warns that while “human exposure to microplastics and their health effects are of global concern, little is known about it. ‘extent of exposure’.

“Infants could be exposed to higher levels of microplastics due to their heavy use of products such as bottles, teething rings and toys,” the researchers say, but they say “more studies are needed. to corroborate these results “.

A report by Canadian researchers has already discovered that humans could consume between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles one year.

It follows claims by a researcher that phthalate pollution is the cause of unborn babies with small penises.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) called for urgent research into the risks of microplastics to human health after confirming that tiny fragments are found in drinking water.

In its first assessment of plastic pollution, the WHO concluded that there was evidence from 50 studies that microscopic particles are found in water and could be absorbed by the human body.

The WHO has reported that particles too small to be seen with the naked eye are likely to be absorbed by the human body, but “firm conclusions” on the risk “cannot yet be determined.”