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After blood, presence of microplastics detected in human lungs

WION Web Team
LondonUpdated: Apr 07, 2022, 01:57 PM IST
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Microplastics have been found in human lungs (representative image). Photograph:(Twitter)

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The new discovery was made by the experts of the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School. Microplastics were found in the deepest section of the lung. It was earlier thought to be impossible as the airways are very narrow. This study showed microplastics are present in lungs of living people

In another glaring discovery, microplastics have been detected in human lungs by scientists. This has happened for the first time.  

Earlier, microplastics were found in human blood in another research.  

The new discovery was made by the experts of the University of Hull and Hull York Medical School.   

Microplastics were found in the deepest section of the lung. It was earlier thought to be impossible as the airways are very narrow.  

This study showed microplastics are present in lungs of living people.  

In this study, samples were taken from the tissues removed from 13 patients, who were undergoing surgery. In 11 cases, microplastics were found.  

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The particles, which were most commonly found, were polypropylene. It is used in plastic packaging, PET bottles, etc.   

"We did not expect to find the highest number of particles in the lower regions of the lungs, or particles of the sizes we found. It is surprising as the airways are smaller in the lower parts of the lungs and we would have expected particles of these sizes to be filtered out or trapped before getting this deep," Laura Sadofsky of Hull York medical school in the UK, who was also a senior author of the study, told The Guardian.  

"The characterisation of types and levels of microplastics we have found can now inform realistic conditions for laboratory exposure experiments with the aim of determining health impacts," Bloomberg quoted Sadofsky as saying.   

The research has also been accepted for publication by ‘Science of the Total Environment’ journal.   

(With inputs from agencies)