Plastics are everywhere — should you be concerned? By HPN Staff You will almost certainly eat or drink plastic this week. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded that the current scientific evidence “does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in food pose a risk to human health,” a wide range of studies in recent years have found plastic in food and drink, and in most human organs. It comes from unpredictable places: A new study out of France compared the amount of plastics in different beverage containers and concluded that “the most contaminated containers were glass bottles," not plastic bottles. Researchers blamed the small amount of plastic used to coat metal bottle caps. Why it matters The world produces an estimated 460 million metric tons of plastic a year. Because of its strength, light weight and low cost, plastic has become a crucial part of almost every economic sector, including food and beverage. But as plastics degrade, microplastics emerge — particles as small as a micron, which is one thousandth of a millimeter. Even smaller particles are called nanoplastics. Micro and nano plastics have been found in human brains. At least one study found a higher accumulation of plastic in the brains of people who had been diagnosed with dementia. “These results highlight a critical need to better understand the routes of exposure, uptake and clearance pathways and potential health consequences of plastics in human tissues, particularly in the brain,” researchers noted in that study. Plastics have also been found in human eyeballs, breast milk, bone marrow and various human organs. Not much is certain about the long-term effects, but research is accelerating. For example: A study published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that “patients with carotid artery plaque in which [micro or nano plastics] were detected had a higher risk of a composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, or death from any cause at 34 months of follow-up than those in whom MNPs were not detected.” It’s not just that the plastics themselves may cause problems. A 2022 study noted that plastic particles “can adsorb substances such as additives, heavy metals, proteins, or even microorganisms on their surface, which can cause toxicity.” The bigger picture A writer for The Atlantic recently documented her quest to remove plastics from her life, and how she failed. “Plastic is so ubiquitous that researchers, wanting to examine the effect of plastics on the human body, are struggling to find all-natural individuals to use as controls in studies,” she wrote. A University of California researcher who published a 2024 study of microplastics’ effects on a variety of human systems wrote a piece for The Washington Post in July about how to avoid microplastics. These were some of her tips: Avoid packaged and ultra-processed foods, which tend to have a higher concentration of plastics. Don’t microwave plastic. Don’t use plastic water bottles. Eat fruits and vegetables — a wide range of chemicals are more common in animals. Dust and vacuum frequently and use an air filter. “Microplastics love to hang out in dust,” she wrote.
