Study Reveals Presence of Microplastics in Human Veins

LONDON: A study conducted by a team of experts from the Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull revealed the presence of microplastic particles in the vein tissues of humans. The study also revealed that these particles had originated from a variety of commonly used materials.

The study was conducted on samples of the Saphenous Vein taken from patients undergoing heart surgery and analysed by a team of experts. As many as fifteen particles of microplastics were found per gram of the sample vein tissue. The Saphenous Vein helps in the transportation of blood from the legs towards the heart.

These particles are said to belong to five different polymer types which include alkyd resin, polyvinyl acetate, EVOH and EVA. While alkyd resin is commonly used in synthetic paint, varnishes and enamels, PVAC is an adhesive used in food packing and EVOH and EVA are used in flexible packaging materials.

Published in the Plos One Journal, this study reveals the amounts of microplastics in the vein were similar to or even higher than the amount observed in the colon and lung tissues of people. While the deposits in the lungs can be due to direct contamination from the air and in the colon due to food or water sources, the presence in veins would mean that these particles can reach any part of the human body or infiltrate any biological barrier.

The exact implications of such permeability have not been studied yet but the implications of the long-term effects of such materials in the bloodstream have the potential for some serious damage.

Since plastics are not bio-degradable, they tend to break into smaller and smaller particles as they encounter different forces of nature like moving water, wind, etc. The presence of microplastics in large water bodies like seas and oceans was discovered a few years back but no concrete action has been undertaken to control this contamination.

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