"Researchers say they have found microplastics — tiny pieces of plastic debris that come as a result of the disposal of industrial waste — deep in the lungs of living humans for the first time.
The research, done at Hull York Medical School in England and published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, is the first robust study to identify the plastics in the lungs of living people. The plastics have previously been found in human blood, excrement and in the depths of the ocean.
"Microplastics have previously been found in human cadaver autopsy samples," said Dr. Laura Sadofsky, a senior lecturer in respiratory medicine and the paper's lead author.
"We did not expect to find the highest number of particles in the lower regions of the lungs, or particles of the sizes we found," Sadofsky said. "
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