South Middlesex Times

Plastic pollution, particularly micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNPs), is pervasive, affecting even newborn rodents, according to a study by Rutgers Health published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. These tiny plastic particles enter the environment through the degradation of consumer products and can be deposited in the human body via inhalation, absorption, and diet. They can also cross the placental barrier into fetal tissues.

The persistence of these particles in tissue post-birth has been uncertain until now. The Rutgers Health study indicates that these particles remain in tissue long after birth, at least in rats. This finding could have implications for human health.

“Nobody wants plastic in their liver,” said Phoebe A. Stapleton, an associate professor at Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and senior author of the study. “Now that we know it’s there – as well as in other organs – the next step is to understand why and what that means.”

Stapleton and her team exposed six pregnant rats to aerosolized food-grade plastic powder for ten days to assess MNP persistence in neonatal tissue following maternal exposure. Two weeks after birth, tests on two newborn rats revealed plastics present in lung, liver, kidney, heart, and brain tissues—the same type inhaled by their mothers during pregnancy—while no plastics were found in a control group.

“These results raise concerns for the toxicological impacts associated with MNPs exposure, maternal-fetal health, and systemic MNPs particle deposition,” researchers noted.

Micro- and nanoplastics are widespread pollutants detected across various environments including food sources, farmland, seawater, snow, deep oceans, and high mountains. These pollutants pose potential hazards to human health with evidence linking them to cancer, inflammation, impaired immune function, tissue degeneration, and cardiovascular issues.

Stapleton expressed hope that her findings would prompt policymakers to increase research funding: “Without answers we can’t have policy change.” She suggests that understanding these materials' persistence could lead to greater regulation despite plastics' importance for modern life: “I don't think we'll ever get rid of plastics altogether... But I do think we might get to a point where we’ll have some policies to indicate which ones are less toxic than others.”

The research received partial funding from a grant by the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation.