{"id":63504,"date":"2025-02-15T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T02:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/?p=63504"},"modified":"2025-12-08T10:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:56:13","slug":"microplastics-in-your-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/story\/63504\/microplastics-in-your-body\/","title":{"rendered":"Microplastics in your body"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From your heart to your brain, and even your future kids.<\/h2>\n\n
\"Microplastics
Close up of microplastics found on beach.\u00a9 The 5 Gyres Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Science is only beginning to understand the long-term effects of plastic on human health, yet the evidence so far is alarming. Microplastics\u2014tiny plastic particles less than 5 millimetres in size\u2014have been found everywhere, from the deepest oceans to the food we eat to the air we breathe. More concerningly, they\u2019re now inside our bodies.<\/p>\n\n

Microplastics in human bodies:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n

1. HEART:<\/strong>
A\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0in Environmental Science and Technology found microplastics in the hearts of patients undergoing cardiac surgery\u2014the first confirmed presence of these particles in human heart tissue.

2.<\/strong>\u00a0BRAIN:<\/strong>
Research<\/a>\u00a0shows a rising trend of micro- and nanoplastics in brain tissue, with postmortem studies from 1997 to 2024 detecting their accumulation.

3<\/strong>.\u00a0LUNGS:<\/strong>
Microplastics<\/a>\u00a0have been discovered deep in the lungs of living people. The most common particles were polypropylene (used in packaging and pipes) and PET (found in bottles).

4<\/strong>.\u00a0BLOOD:<\/strong>
Scientists<\/a>\u00a0have detected microplastics in human blood, with nearly 80% of tested individuals carrying these particles. This shows that microplastics can travel through the bloodstream and potentially lodge in organs.

5<\/strong>.\u00a0SEMEN:<\/strong>
Studies<\/a>\u00a0in China and Italy have found microplastics in human semen, raising concerns about potential reproductive harm.

6<\/strong>.\u00a0PLACENTA & BREASTMILK:<\/strong>
Microplastics have been detected in the\u00a0placentas<\/a>\u00a0of unborn babies and in\u00a0breastmilk<\/a>, suggesting exposure begins at the earliest stages of human development.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Plastics contain over 16,000 chemicals, many untested and potentially toxic to human health. At least 4,200 of these are highly hazardous to both people and the planet. With microplastics already invading our bodies, we are constantly exposed to the threats of these harmful substances.

This is a global crisis, and it needs a global solution. We must push for a strong\u00a0Global Plastics Treaty<\/a>\u00a0that cuts plastic production and enables a just transition to reuse and refill systems. Protect the health of future generations.\u00a0Sign the petition now.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Science is only beginning to understand the long-term effects of plastic on human health, yet the evidence so far is alarming. Microplastics\u2014tiny plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size\u2014have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":63507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[22],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-63504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-and-pollution","tag-plastics","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63504"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63506,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63504\/revisions\/63506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63504"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=63504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}