Non solo acqua, aria, suolo e pesci: le micro e nanoplastiche invadono anche il corpo umano, finendo per accumularsi in organi come polmoni, fegato, reni e milza.
Lo hanno scoperto i ricercatori dell'Università dell'Arizona, analizzando decine di campioni di tessuti umani. I risultati, presentati al convegno virtuale della Società americana di chimica (ACS), sollevano nuovi interrogativi sulle conseguenze per la salute di questo fenomeno ancora tutto da decifrare.
"Non vogliamo essere allarmisti, ma è preoccupante che questi materiali non biodegradabili presenti ovunque possano entrare e accumularsi nei tessuti umani, e non sappiamo con quali possibili effetti sulla salute", afferma il ricercatore Varun Kelkar.
Il suo gruppo ha valutato la presenza di microplastiche (inferiori ai 5 millimetri) e nanoplastiche (inferiori a 0,001 millimetri) in 47 biopsie conservate in una grande banca di tessuti insieme alle cartelle cliniche dei pazienti per studiare le malattie neurodegenerative come l'Alzheimer.
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