Occurrence of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate Microplastics in Infant and Adult Feces
Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00559
Download: /uploads/arquivos/Plastic-Feces.pdf
Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2021, XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX
Publication Date:September 22, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00559
2021 American Chemical Society
Junjie Zhang, Lei Wang, Leonardo Trasande and Kurunthachalam Kannan.
Abstract
Although human exposure to microplastics (MPs) and the health effects thereof are a global concern, little is known about the magnitude of exposure. In this study, we quantitatively determined the concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC) MPs in three meconium and six infant and 10 adult feces samples collected from New York State. PET and PC MPs were found in some meconium samples (at concentration ranges from below the limit of quantification [<LOQ] to 12,000 and <LOQ–110 ng/g dry weight, respectively) and all infant stool specimens (PET: 5700–82,000 ng/g, median, 36,000 ng/g; PC: 49–2100 ng/g, median, 78 ng/g). They were also found in most (PET) or all (PC) adult stool samples but at concentrations an order of magnitude lower than in infants for PET MPs (<LOQ–16,000 ng/g, median, 2600 ng/g). The estimated mean daily exposures from the diet of infants to PET and PC MPs were 83,000 and 860 ng/kg body weight per day, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of adults (PET: 5800 ng/kg-bw/day; PC: 200 ng/kg-bw/d). Our study suggests that infants are exposed to higher levels of MPs than adults.
Have you ever stopped to see that everything made for kids is made of plastic?
It turns out that plastic breaks down into microplastic that can be inhaled, ingested, and these microplastics contaminate everything in its atmosphere, from the human body (even placenta) to dental implants.
Dental implants that touch the plastic packaging are contaminated with microplastics.
Link Placenta with plastic: https://www.implante.institute/blog/plasticenta-first-evidence-of-microplastics-in-human-placenta/676
Microplastics: tiny plastic pieces less than 5 mm in size are everywhere, from indoor dust to food to bottled water. So it's not surprising that scientists have detected these particles in the feces of people and pets. Now, in a small pilot study, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology Letters discovered that infants have higher amounts of one type of microplastic in their stool than adults.
Little is known about the magnitude of human exposure to microplastics or their health effects. Although microplastics were once thought to pass harmlessly through the gastrointestinal tract and exit the body, recent studies suggest that the tiniest pieces can cross cell membranes and enter the circulation. In cells and laboratory animals, microplastic exposure can cause cell death, inflammation and metabolic disorders. Kurunthachalam Kannan at the New York University School of Medicine and colleagues wanted to assess human exposure to two common microplastics—polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polycarbonate (PC)—by measuring levels in infant and adult feces.
The researchers used mass spectrometry to determine the concentrations of PET and PC microplastics in six infant and 10 adult feces samples collected from New York state, as well as in three samples of meconium (a newborn infant's first stool). All samples contained at least one type of microplastic. Although average levels of fecal PC microplastics were similar between adults and infants, infant stool contained, on average, more than 10 times higher PET concentrations than that of adults.
Infants could be exposed to higher levels of microplastics through their extensive use of products such as bottles, teethers and toys, the researchers say. However, they note that larger studies are needed to corroborate these findings.
