Babies haven’t spent a lot of time on the planet, but apparently it’s still enough time to be exposed to lots of plastic.
A new study published in Environmental Science and Technology Letters Wednesday found an average of 36,000 nanograms of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics (MP) per gram of infant feces, compared to 2,600 nanograms for adults.
“Our study suggests that infants are exposed to higher levels of MPs than adults,” the authors wrote.
Microplastics are what happens when plastics break down in the environment into bits less than five millimeters long, Wired explained. They have been found everywhere from Mount Everest to the ocean floor, but the researchers wanted to test exposure in infants.
To do this, they collected dirty diapers from six one year olds and filtered the poop for microplastics, Wired explained. They also tested three samples of meconium, an infant’s first feces, and 10 adult stool samples. They tested all of the samples for two […]
Stephan,
Great awareness on micro plastics. Thanks for posting this article. I believe the breast is the best bottle ever made, but this is the kind of article that brings awareness to mothers of infants who don’t choose to nurse.