For some time, there was much media coverage of “microplastics” being found in everything including inside the human body.
But then microplastics sort of faded from view. What happened?
Media hype initially suggested widespread microplastic presence in human blood and organs, subsequent research identified that plastic contamination from lab gloves and handling equipment was a major source of false positives in earlier studies.
Here is the current status of the science:
- The Contamination Issue: A landmark 2024 study and subsequent methodological reviews confirmed that many early detections were likely artifacts. Standard latex or nitrile gloves used by researchers can shed microscopic particles that are chemically identical to the samples being tested, leading to “ghost” detections.
- Methodological Shifts: The scientific community has responded by establishing stricter contamination controls. New protocols now mandate:
- The use of glass or metal tools instead of plastic.
- Wearing specific low-shedding gloves (or no gloves where sterile conditions allow) during sample prep.
- Running extensive “blank” controls (samples with no tissue) to measure background contamination levels in the lab environment.
- Revised Findings: When these rigorous controls are applied, the concentration of microplastics found in human tissues often drops significantly, sometimes by orders of magnitude. However, recent high-quality studies that account for contamination still detect microplastics in human blood and placenta, though at lower levels than the initial “hype” suggested.
- Current Consensus: The consensus is that microplastics are present in the human body, but the extent is likely less than the most sensationalized reports claimed. The primary challenge now is distinguishing between true biological presence and unavoidable environmental background noise.
After correcting for false positives, microplastics appear to still be present but at orders of magnitude less. This leads to question as to whether these levels are unhealthful or not – and may be at such low levels, or at very manageable levels, to not be the huge problem they first appeared to be.
Even though the science has changed a bit several jurisdictions are proposing regulations. Additionally, companies are using “fear” based marketing to promote some products that allegedly reduce microplastics in the kitchen, etc. Microplastics exist, but probably at lower levels than once suggested, and their impact on health is not clearly understood.
