The Guardian reported that scientists analyzed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors who were all healthy adults. They found plastic particles in 17 of the donors. Half of the samples contained PET plastic which is commonly used in water bottles, while a third contained polystyrene that used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene from which plastic carrier bags are made.
“Our study is the first indication that we have polymer particles in our blood – it’s a breakthrough result,” said Professor Dick Vethaak, an ecotoxicologist at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. “But we have to extend the research and increase the sample sizes, the number of polymers assessed, etc.”
Scary, downright scary.
Read the article in The Guardian here.
This plastic infiltration into our bodies is something that some marine conservationists – and ocean advocates and open water swimmers like Lewis Pugh and Bruckner Chase – have long worried and warned about.
But there can occasionally be glimmers of hope.
Eco-friendly plastic that decomposes in seawater is being developed in Japan. Professor Ito Kozo at the University of Tokyo is trying to address the problem by developing plastics that break down naturally in the ocean. Professor Ito has created a durable, practically usable plastic for the fishing industry. This new plastic incorporates enzymes and other additives that initiate the decomposition process. Because the raw materials are bio-derived, the plastic gradually breaks down into water and carbon dioxide.
The Japanese government has an innovative program called the Moonshot Research and Development Program backs bold and challenging research like Professor Ito’s vision. The Japanese government, under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization that runs the project, says demand for this kind of plastic will grow.
The mission of the Moonshot Program certainly gives hope and instills confidence in what can be achieved by creative minds and relentless efforts:
Letʼs repaint the future to be brighter, more vibrant, more beautiful.
Our planet and its people now face many serious challenges, so letʼs gather our collective strength.
We can overcome old limits by converging global knowledge, and break convention with radical innovation.
This is our new [future]. A future inspired by science, but shaped by human spirit.
Donʼt think itʼs impossible. Donʼt be afraid to fail. Donʼt feel constrained by prior expectations.
Letʼs paint the future to be full of smiling faces, by our hands as we live courageously today.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
“to educate, enthuse, and entertain all those who venture beyond the shoreline“