A news study conducted by University of Rhode Island Professor Jaime Ross investigating the infiltration of microplastics in mammals has revealed that this is far more widespread than initially thought. In fact, the plastic particles were found to bioaccumulate in every organ, including, startlingly enough, the brain.

Microplastics are among the most pervasive pollutants on the planet. They have been discovered in the air, in water systems and food chains around the world. While their negative impacts on marine organisms have been established, few studies have examined the potential health impacts on mammals.

“Research on the health effects of microplastics, especially in mammals, is still very limited,” said Ross, an assistant professor of biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences at the Ryan Institute for Neuroscience and the College of Pharmacy.

The study noted that humans are exposed to microplastics  through the consumption of ‘water, seafood, consumer products (clothes, toothpaste, salt, sugar, honey, beer, anything stored in plastic bottles, plastic wrap, or cans/cartons lined with plastic), and via inhalation from textiles, synthetic rubber tires, and plastic covers’. They have been detected, among others, in blood and even breast milk – findings that warrant more investigation into the health outcomes of such exposure in mammals. Currently, there are limited studies that address the potential adverse effects of exposure to MPs on brain health in mammals and even fewer studies that consider age as an additional factor that may impact t