Flourish - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 15
Microplastics are plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimetres, and they are no longer
just an ocean story. The World Health Organization (WHO) says health risks exist across
the entire plastic lifecycle, from production and use through to disposal, while the
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that
global plastic production doubled from 234 million tonnes in 2000 to 460 million tonnes
in 2019. In that same year, plastic waste reached 353 million tonnes, only 9 per cent was
ultimately recycled, and 22 million tonnes leaked into the environment. Microplastics
made up about 12 per cent of that leakage.
How do microplastics get
into us?
The main routes are
surprisingly ordinary. We
can be exposed through
food, drinking water and
the air we breathe. WHO
says evidence is growing
around both consumption
and inhalation of
microplastics and
nanoplastics, although
important uncertainties
remain. In drinking water
speci昀椀cally, WHO has
said that microplastics
at current levels do not
appear to pose a health
risk based on the limited
evidence available, but
that much more research
is needed, especially for
very small particles in the
nano range.
In Australia, one study
examining bottled
water sold in major
supermarkets found
microplastics in 94 per
cent of samples. On
average, a litre contained
13 ± 19 microplastics,
and the researchers
estimated that Australians
who regularly consume
bottled water could be
exposed to around 400
microplastics a year
from that source alone.
Imported bottled water
in that study contained
about four times as many
microplastics as Australian
sourced bottled water.
That does not tell us total
exposure, but it does
show how routine the
contact can be.
What does the science say
about our health?
The most honest answer
is this: concern is rising
faster than certainty, but
the evidence is no longer
easy to dismiss. WHO’s
broader review of dietary
and inhalation exposure
found enough uncertainty
to call for more
targeted, standardised
research. A 2024 rapid
systematic review went
further, concluding that
microplastic exposure
is suspected to
adversely affect human
reproductive, digestive
and respiratory health,
while evidence for some
other outcomes, such
as birth outcomes and
gestational age, was still
too limited or low quality
to classify con昀椀dently.
What has made this
issue harder to ignore
is that microplastics are
now being detected
inside the human body.
Recent research has
con昀椀rmed their presence
in human kidney, liver
and brain tissue. Another
high pro昀椀le 2024 study
found microplastics
and nanoplastics in
carotid artery plaque,
and patients with those
particles detected in
plaque had a higher risk
of heart attack, stroke or
death during follow up.
Importantly, that was an
observational association,
not proof that the
particles directly caused
those events. Still, it is a
strong signal that warrants
serious follow up. UN
Environment Programme
(UNEP) has also noted
that microplastics are
increasingly being found
in arteries, lungs, brains,
placenta and breast milk.
