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The increasing presence of nanoplastics in the environment has raised concerns about their potential impacts on human health. Research has shown that nanoplastics can penetrate biological barriers, induce toxicity, and accumulate in organs, leading to various health issues. [8]
The health and safety hazards of nanomaterials include the potential toxicity of various types of nanomaterials, as well as fire and dust explosion hazards. Because nanotechnology is a recent development, the health and safety effects of exposures to nanomaterials, and what levels of exposure may be acceptable, are subjects of ongoing research.
Nanoplastics are thought to be a risk to environmental and human health. [38] [45] Due to their small size, nanoplastics can cross cellular membranes and affect the functioning of cells. Nanoplastics are lipophilic and models show that polyethylene nanoplastics can be incorporated into the hydrophobic core of lipid bilayers. [46]
Other studies have found micro- and nanoplastics in fruit and vegetables such as carrot, lettuce, broccoli, potatoes, apples, and pears—likely from the concentrations of plastics found in soil ...
Nanoplastics are the most worrisome plastics for human health, experts say. At 1,000th the average width of a human hair, the minuscule bits can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract ...
Campen said it's unclear from his research why so many nanoplastics are managing to cross the blood-brain barrier, but the brain's high proportion of lipids, or fats, likely plays a role.
Additives may also degrade to form other compounds that could be more benign or more toxic. Plastic fragmentation into microplastics and nanoplastics can allow chemical additives to move in the environment far from the point of use. Once released, some additives and derivatives may persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in organisms.
Thinking of plants as lives that serve their own purposes opens up a distinct way of understanding our connection to them. They are independent from us and yet knowable; otherworldly and yet familiar.