There's a new danger in the air that experts have likened to asbestos or tobacco. Microplastic particles (tiny pieces of plastic) are spreading through our home air, and according to a new study, we're inhaling far more of them than we thought.
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A groundbreaking study used high-tech equipment to measure particles smaller than 10 microns in size in the average home.
It was found that every day we breathe in around 7,000 microplastic particles – just one-tenth the width of a human hair.
Professor Anoop Chauhan, a respiratory specialist at Portsmouth Hospitals Trust, explained the risks of breathing in microplastics.
"Having these particles in your body can cause stress and changes in metabolism, it can affect your immune system, your ability to fight infections, it can affect your reproductive ability and it can potentially be carcinogenic – causing cancer," he said.
Part of the danger of inhaling these is that they “don’t break.”
And it doesn't matter what room of the house you are in, they are everywhere.
Dr Fay Couceiro, an environmental pollution expert who led the study, took samples from Good Morning Britain journalist Michelle Morrison's home in Beckenham, south-east London.
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The samples were collected on October 12 in collaboration with Michelle's eight-year-old daughter Millie and her five-year-old son Benji.
Mrs Morrison found that three-quarters of her wardrobe contained plastics such as polyester and nylon. To simulate typical childhood activity, her son and daughter were asked to play with toys .
The researchers estimated that the family was likely breathing in between 2,000 and 7,000 microplastics per day.
Dr Couceiro said: "I was surprised by the respirable levels of microplastics present in the average home and more work definitely needs to be done on this."
More than a year ago, Metro.co.uk reported on the dangers of inhaling microplastics and experts seemed to say they had “no time to waste.”
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The tiny fragments come from various plastic objects in everyday life – such as curtains, carpets, rubber fragments from tires and many other synthetic objects – and could be linked to many health problems, particularly around the lungs.
Dr Matthew Cole, one of the academics involved in the research, explained that the particles "may cause inflammation or tissue damage", adding that they could pose an increased risk to people with underlying respiratory problems.
Information source: metro.co.uk
