Over the past two years, there have been several reports of microplastic particles being found in human testicles, kidneys, and blood vessels. This raises the question of how they enter the human body? A study by scientists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has now found that billions of microplastic particles are released in every milliliter of water by tea bags when used to make drinks. Three types of bags were tested in this study, namely polypropylene, cellulose, and nylon.
Polypropylene bags released up to 1.2 billion particles per milliliter of water with an average size of 136.7 nm. Cellulose bags released 125 million particles per milliliter of water with an average particle size of 244 nm. Finally, nylon bags released 8.18 million particles per milliliter of water with an average particle size of 138.4 nm.
Although scientists still do not know the impact of plastic on the human body, there is a hypothesis that it causes impotence in men and also hormonal imbalance issues. We may laugh at the plastic straw campaign, but the reality is that the impact of microplastics on the human body is a serious long-term issue.