Written by: Noelle A. Koo (11th grade / Ashburn, VA USA)
Article Summary/Analysis:
Microplastics have been around for a very long time and the consumption and ingestion of microplastic particles are almost inevitable as human beings have come to use a lot of plastic in their everyday living processes. Microplastics are not only present in actual plastic itself but also have filtered into the water supply and a lot of foods that humans consume daily. It is very likely that the ingestion of microplastics leads to further exposure of humans to various chemicals and particles that are quite harmful to the human body - although there isn't enough evidence to conclude that all microplastics are harmful to the body as some do not have any effect. However, certain chemicals affiliated with microplastics has shown to have a correlation to various health problems like developmental delays presented in children, reproductive defects, and more. Seeing the impacts that these chemicals affiliated with microplastics have on human health, scientists and researchers have been researching to determine how to minimize the amount of microplastics that are ingested/consumed by humans as a part of their everyday living processes.
Recently, a shocking discovery that microplastic particles were revealed in the placenta of unborn babies raised great concerns and controversies regarding what should be done about the rising problem of the impacts of microplastics on human health and to what extent the microplastics impacted these unborn babies. As mentioned above, at a current analytical standpoint, there is no concrete evidence that microplastics have a negative impact on human health but there is also no concrete evidence that microplastics have no impact/a positive impact on human health. Therefore, for now, it has been concluded that the impact of microplastics on human health remains obscure and unknown. However, it has been determined that the presence of microplastics in the placenta of a fetus can lead to future problems regarding the immune system development and more. It was found that the presence of the microplastics in the placenta was a result of the ingestion/consumption of the microplastics by the mothers from mainly packaging, cosmetics, and personal care products. There are many issues that arise with the concept that microplastics are everywhere and virtually impossible to not ingest or consume, as the exact impacts of microplastics on human health is currently unknown. However, scientists and researchers predict that there is a necessity for furthering research and knowledge about microplastics' impacts on human health, especially infant health, as infants consume countless microplastics even before they come out of the womb (and even more after). The high ingestion of these microplastics can lead to future health implication in infants, which is why scientists and researchers are working hard to figure out the exact impacts of microplastics on human health.
Article Link: Microplastics revealed in The placentas of unborn babies. (2020, December 22). Retrieved February 03, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/22/microplastics-revealed-in-placentas-unborn-babies#:~:text=Microplastic%20particles%20have%20been%20revealed,a%20matter%20of%20great%20concern%E2%80%9D.&text=The%20particles%20were%20found%20in,had%20normal%20pregnancies%20and%20births.
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