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Paris: Traces of plastic have been detected in human excrement in Europe, Russia and Japan, according to research claiming to demonstrate for the first time the widespread presence of plastics in the human food chain.
The researchers reported Tuesday at a gastroenterology conference in Vienna that the eight volunteers participating in a small pilot study had adopted several types of plastics, with an average of 20 microparticles per 10 grams of stool.
Scientists have speculated that the tiny dots weighing between 50 and 500 micrometers could have been ingested via seafood, food packaging, dust bottles or plastic bottles.
A human hair is about 50 to 100 microns wide.
"In our laboratory we were able to detect nine different types of plastics," said Bettina Liebmann, a researcher at the Federal Environment Agency, who analyzed the samples.
The two most common were polypropylene (PP) – present in bottle caps, ropes and straps – and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), found in bottles and textile fibers.
With polystyrene (utensils, cups, coolers) and polyethylene (plastic bags), they accounted for more than 95% of the particles detected.
"We have not been able to establish a reliable link between nutritional behavior and exposure to microplastics," said lead author Philipp Schwabl, a researcher at the Vienna Medical University.
In previous animal studies, the highest concentrations of microplastics were found in the stomach and intestines, but smaller amounts were also detected in the blood, lymph, and liver.
"There are initial indications that microplastics can damage the gastrointestinal tract by promoting inflammatory reactions or by absorbing harmful substances," Schwabl said.
"Further studies are needed to evaluate the potential hazards of microplastics for humans."
Schwabl recruited five women and three men aged 33 to 65 in Finland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Russia, Japan and Austria.
Each kept a diary for a week of what they ate and then provided a stool sample.
All consumed food packaged in plastic and drinks in plastic bottles, and six ate seafood. None were vegetarian.
Scientists not involved in the study stated that its scope was too limited to allow definitive conclusions to be drawn, particularly with respect to health effects.
"I'm not at all surprised or particularly worried about these results," commented Alistair Boxall, professor of environmental science at the York University in Britain.
"Microplastics have been found in tap water, bottled water, fish tissue and mussels, and even in beer," he added. "It is therefore inevitable that at least some of these things will enter our lungs and our digestive system."
Further research is needed, he said, before he can determine the origin of the plastics in the intestines, and in particular their harmfulness.
For Stephanie Wright, a researcher at King's College London, the real question is whether plastics accumulate in the human body.
"What is unknown is if the concentration of plastic ingested is greater than that which comes out of it, because of the particles passing through the wall of the intestine," she said.
"No published data indicates what might be the health effects."
Global plastic production has grown rapidly and currently accounts for more than 400 million tonnes per year.
It is estimated that two to five percent of plastics end up in the ocean, where much of it breaks down into tiny particles.
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