Plastic particles washed off from products such as synthetic clothes contribute up to 35% of the primary plastic that is polluting our oceans. Every time we do our laundry an average of 9 million microfibers are released into wastewater treatment plants that cannot filter them.
Micro-plastic pollution is causing more threats to aquatic life and human life than we think are aware of. Recently, according to a study published in Nature, Scientists have discovered microplastic particles in the placenta of women after they gave birth. The researchers have said it is a matter of “great concern.” However, women volunteers who were involved in the study had no problems with their pregnancies and the effect of their babies is not known. But experts fear that the chemicals present in the plastic may interfere with their development.
The study essentially sheds new light on the level of human exposure to MPs and microparticles in general and shows possible consequences on pregnancy outcomes and fetuses from plasticizers on metabolism and reproduction. The study authors found 12 microplastic fragments in four placentas from a study of six that were donated by women after the birth of their child. From the placenta donated, only 3 percent of it was sampled, suggesting that the total microplastic pieces could be much higher.
Dr. Antonia Ragusa from the Uoc Obstetrics and Gynaecology Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome, where the research was conducted, said that he was astonished when he saw the microplastics in the placenta, adding that if something is found in the placenta, it is found in the baby as well.
Therefore, plastic pollution is a major concern and threat to the environment which needs special attention.
