Bloody hell: What does that mean for health if we have plastic running through our veins?

Our bloodstream is a vital network running throughout our bodies that absorbs nutrients from the food we eat and oxygen from the air we breathe and carries them to all cells to keep us alive.

Most of us would admit to allowing a few ‘unnecessary’ ingredients to enter this important system – wee glass of wine here, bit of sugary cake there – but it might come as a shock to discover what else could be coursing through our veins.

Scientists in the Netherlands have for the first time identified plastic particles in human blood.

Worryingly, samples from more than three out every four people tested contained at least one of five plastic types used in a wide range of everyday products.

We are exposed to plastic from multiple sources -- they are used in furniture, food and drink packaging, cosmetics and healthcare products like toothpaste, and particles have been found in our food system, in drinking water and in the air we breathe

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), widely used to produce drinks bottles, food packaging and clothing, was the most commonly found, showing up in half of all tests.

Polystyrene came second, identified in 36 per cent of donors, followed by polyethylene – often used to make carrier bags – which was present in 23 per cent of cases.

Polymethyl methacrylate and polypropylene were also found.

It’s not clear exactly how these polymers are getting inside us, but there are myriad routes due to their prevalence in modern life.

But there is no doubt we have a problem with plastic no matter how useful and convenient.

Piles of it are building up in every single part of the planet, from the deepest reaches of the oceans to the tops of the highest mountains.

Plastic particles do not decompose, but break down into ever-small chunks and can remain in the environment for hundreds of years.

They have been found in seafood, in drinking water and even in the air.

And now they are running through our blood, possibly building up in our organs and posing who knows what risks to our well-being.

Previous research has found links between plastics and some cancers, while a recent study suggests they can impair the oxygen-carrying ability of red blood.

It’s time the impacts were properly investigated.

Campaign group Common Seas, which commissioned the report, is calling on the UK Government to introduce a new £15 million National Plastic Health Impact Research Fund to urgently investigate the effects of plastic exposure on human health.

It can’t come soon enough.

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