How much microscopic plastic does a person eat in one year?

Scientists estimate that by 2015 on Earth4.9 billion tons of plastic waste has accumulated. Some of this garbage gradually disintegrates to a microscopic size, and these particles constantly enter human organisms through food, water and even air. Researchers at Canadian University of Victoria were able to calculate how many particles of plastic are eaten per year by adult men and women, as well as young boys and girls. The results of the study scare.

When conducting research, scientists useddata on the concentration of plastic microparticles in food, water and air from 26 scientific documents. In these works, information was found on the degree of contamination by plastic microparticles of bottled water and beer, sugar, fish and air. Unfortunately, data on the contamination of meat, vegetables and fruits at the disposal of researchers was not.

There are plastic particles inside a person

However, scientists were able to calculate the annualthe amount of plastic consumed by people. It turned out that during this period, 121.7 thousand particles penetrate the body of adult men, while women eat, drink and inhale 98.3 thousand microscopic pieces of plastic. In children, these figures, of course, are lower: 81.3 thousand particles fall annually into the organisms of boys, and 74 thousand particles fall into girls' organisms.

The results of the study scare in this form, butscientists believe that in fact the amount of plastic consumed by humans is much greater. The fact is that they took into account far from all categories of products, and also ignored the fact that the amount of plastic entering the organisms directly depends on the habits of each person. For example, people who drink bottled water admit 22 times more plastic into their bodies than those who prefer tap water.

The amount of plastic waste is constantly growing,and they are already starting to harm insects. More recently, Australian scientists began to sound the alarm because they discovered bee nests made entirely from plastic. It is possible that this material protects them from chemicals, but they still cannot live in such nests - dead individuals were found inside. Read about this discovery can be in our material.

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