A new study says indoor air is overrun with thousands of microplastics small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs.
The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, say the source of the particles likely stems from the breakdown of plastic-filled objects, like curtains, furniture, carpets, or even the interior of cars.
“People spend an average of 90% of their time indoors, including homes, workplaces, shops, transportation, etc., and all the while they are exposed to microplastic pollution through inhalation without even thinking about it,” said senior study author Jeroen Sonke, CNRS Research Director, Université de Toulouse, and lead author Nadiia Yakovenko, PhD, Postdoctoral researcher at Université de Toulouse, in a joint statement.
The latest findings come on the heels of another study that found microplastic exposure in a spot most people might not suspect: chewing gum. Many brands list “gum base” as part of their ingredient list. Most people may not realize, however, that plastics comprise part of this ingredient.
In terms of indoor air quality, the researchers of the latest study say plastics may represent an “invisible threat we are only beginning to understand.”
“What surprised us the most was how much microplastics were present in the air of the environments we consider safe and familiar, like our homes and cars,” said Sonke and Yakovenko.
According to the study’s findings, adults may be inhaling roughly 68,000 microplastic particles of one to 10 micrometers per day from indoor air. That figure is 100 times, or two orders of magnitude, higher than expected. For context, a red blood cell is 6.2 to 8.2 micrometers.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express reported on a paper in the Genomic Press that found switching from bottled water to filtered tap water can dramatically reduce your microplastic intake by roughly 90%. One alarming study has previously found that the brain tissue of normal individuals with an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, contained 4,800 micrograms of plastic per gram, or 0.48% by weight.