UK study finds microplastics, most likely from inhalation, in all regions of human lungs sampled. Did they arrive from masks? Image courtesy of Primary Doctor Medical Journal.
A new UK study from Hull York Medical School sampled human lung tissue using micro-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. (micro FTIR).
39 kinds of microplastics were identified from 11 of the 13 lung tissue samples of patients who were to undergo surgery. The most commonly found microplastics were polypropylene (PP) 23%, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 18% and resin 15%. Tissue from male donors contained nearly six times the microplastics of tissue from female donors.
It had been thought that only particles smaller than 3 micrometers (µm) can enter the alveolar region of the lung. However, the particles seen in this study were up to 1410 µm in length = 1.4 mm.
What does this have to do with masks?
Possibly nothing. However, the disposable surgical masks that now decorate the world’s beaches and rivers and wildlands after having decorated billions of human faces happen to also be made of polystyrene and polyethylene compounds. But the most common material in these is polypropylene, because of ease of industrial handling. That was the most common microplastic found by the UK researchers in lung tissue samples.
Epidemiologist Boris Borovoy and I were the first that we were aware of to warn in peer-reviewed research of this health hazard from inhaled microplastics and nano-plastics coming from disposable surgical masks.
We also discussed the friable nature of the particulate attached to surgical masks. Here are a few of the photos we took of surgical masks under light microscope, 40 to 100x magnification and without magnification.
Surgical mask particulate. Image courtesy of Primary Doctor Medical Journal.
HOW DAMAGING IS BREATHING IN MICROPLASTICS?
Around 16% of the plastic produced annually in the world consists of textile fibers. In recent decades, production has grown by 6% every year and is now around 60 million tons per year. Synthetic clothing is responsible for endless amounts of microfibers, which can even be found in drinking water.
Plastic microfibers are not just in outdoor air; they can also be found inside buildings and, in particular, in the dust on the floor. Research has already shown that we probably ingest microplastics at a rate of 11 particles per hour. These numbers are not surprising, considering that 33% of fibers in indoor environments are plastic fibers. Also, we are likely to ingest more plastic through household dust from textiles than through mussel consumption, as research found out that the microplastics in wild mussels were low compared to household fibers ending up on the surface of the food.
What’s more, studies have shown that it’s raining microplastics everywhere and every day: plastic microfibers have been found in high concentrations in the air of big cities like London, Paris and Dongguan as well as in remote areas like the Arctic or the Swiss Alps.
DOES BREATHING FIBERS IN DAMAGE HEALTH?
The presence of microplastics in human lung tissue was already demonstrated in the 1990s by scientists investigating lung tissue of cancer patients, who expressed their concern that plastic fibers may contribute to the risk of lung cancer.
Research showed that plastic particles might persist in the lungs, especially in people with lung disease. When particles would remain in the lungs, they likely stay there for a long time because they are bio-persistent, which could cause inflammation. It also matters how long the fibers are because longer fibers appear to be more damaging.
Particle pollution has long been known to damage lung tissues, leading to cancer, asthma attacks, and other health problems. If inhalation of microplastics is sufficiently high, these plastic particles may cause similar health problems.
Textile workers processing, among others, polyester and nylon fibers, experienced coughing, breathlessness, and reduced lung capacity, suggesting a link between microplastic inhalation and the health problems seen in these workers.
Finally, the most recent results on this matter have shown that nylon fibers hinder the growth of mini lungs, while polyester fibers did not. Defense cells in the lungs (macrophages) also attacked nylon fibers when exposed to these plastic particles. These preliminary results were introduced by researcher Fransien van Dijk during the first-ever Plastic Health Summit 2019, as part of research at the University of Groningen.
Dr. Colleen Huber is a Naturopathic Medical Doctor in Tempe, Arizona. Her clinic, NatureWorksBest Cancer Clinic, has reported its results in detailed documentation of every patient who stayed at least two weeks at the clinic, from 2006 to 2014. Her book Choose Your Foods Like Your Life Depends On Them is timeless. She has been featured in the books America’s Best Cancer Doctors and Defeat Cancer. Her academic writing has appeared in The Lancet, the International Journal of Cancer Research and Molecular Mechanisms, and other medical journals. Her research interests are in the use of therapeutic approaches targeting metabolic aspects of cancer. Dr. Huber was recently featured in a documentary “Cancer Can Be Killed” by Jeff Witzeman. Dr. Huber has been treating cancer naturally for a decade and has a documented 90% success rate.
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