來源:中國日報網
繼上個月荷蘭科學家率先在人類血液中檢測到微塑料後，英國科學家日前也首次在活人肺部深處發現微塑料。微塑料居然能進入人類肺部深處且顆粒如此之大，令科學家震驚不已。
[Photo/Pexels]
Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodged deep in the lungs of living people for the first time. The particles were found in almost all the samples analysed.
科學家首次在活人肺部深處發現微塑料污染。這些微塑料顆粒出現在幾乎所有接受分析的樣本中。
The scientists said microplastic pollution was now ubiquitous across the planet, making human exposure unavoidable and meaning 「there is an increasing concern regarding the hazards」 to health.
科學家指出，微塑料污染如今在地球上無所不在，不可避免地會殃及人類，這意味著微塑料造成的健康風險「引發的擔憂與日俱增」。
Samples were taken from tissue removed from 13 patients undergoing surgery and microplastics were found in 11 cases. The most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles. Two previous studies had found microplastics at similarly high rates in lung tissue taken during autopsies.
科學家從13名接受手術的患者體內切下的組織中獲取了樣本，並在其中11例樣本中發現了微塑料。最常見的微塑料是用於塑料包裝和管道的聚丙烯以及用於製作塑料瓶的聚對苯二甲酸乙二醇酯。先前的兩項研究發現，微塑料也同樣廣泛地出現在屍檢時切下的肺組織中。
People were already known to breathe in the tiny particles, as well as consuming them via food and water. Workers exposed to high levels of microplastics are also known to have developed disease.
眾所周知，人們會吸入小顆粒物，並會通過食物和水攝入微塑料。據悉，暴露在大量微塑料環境中的工人會因此而得病。
Microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time in March, showing the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.
今年三月科學家首次在人類血液中檢測到微塑料，這表明微塑料可以在人體內遊走並在器官里沉積。目前尚不明確血液中的微塑料對健康的影響。但是研究人員對此感到擔憂，因為微塑料會損傷實驗室環境中的人體細胞，而且眾所周知，空氣污染顆粒物會進入人體，每年導致數百萬人早逝。
'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,」 said Laura Sadofsky at Hull York medical school in the UK, a senior author of the study. 「It is surprising as the airways are smaller in the lower parts of the lungs and we would have expected particles of these sizes to be filtered out or trapped before getting this deep.」
該研究的資深作者、英國赫爾約克醫學院的蘿拉·薩多夫斯基說：「我們沒想到會在肺部深處發現這麼多微塑料，也沒想到微塑料的顆粒會這麼大。這很令人驚訝，因為肺部深處的氣道更窄，我們以為這麼大顆粒的微塑料在進入肺部深處前會被過濾掉或被卡在外面。」
'This data provides an important advance in the field of air pollution, microplastics and human health,」 she said. The information could be used to create realistic conditions for laboratory experiments to determine health impacts.
她說：「這些數據是空氣污染、微塑料和人類健康領域的一個重要進展。」該信息可用於打造接近現實的實驗條件，以確定微塑料對健康的影響。
A 2021 study in Brazil on autopsy samples found microplastics in 13 of the 20 people analysed. Polyethylene, used in plastic bags, was one of the most common particles.
2021年巴西的一項研究在分析的20例屍檢樣本中發現13例樣本含有微塑料。用於塑膠袋的聚乙烯是這些樣本中最常見的微塑料之一。
A US study of lung cancer patients in 1998 found plastic and plant fibres (such as cotton) in more than 100 samples. In cancerous tissue, 97% of samples contained the fibres and in non-cancerous samples, 83% were contaminated.
1998年美國對肺癌患者的一項研究在100多個樣本中發現了塑料和植物纖維（比如棉花），分別有97%的癌組織樣本和83%的非癌組織樣本含有這些纖維。
Huge amounts of plastic waste are dumped in the environment, and microplastics contaminate the entire planet, from the summit of Qomolangma to the deepest oceans. Microplastics have been found in the placentas of pregnant women, and in pregnant rats they pass rapidly through the lungs into the hearts, brains and other organs of the foetuses.
海量的塑料垃圾被傾倒入環境中，微塑料污染了整個地球，從珠穆朗瑪峰之巔到海洋最深處。科學家發現，微塑料甚至存在於孕婦的胎盤中，在懷孕的老鼠體內，微塑料可經由肺部快速進入胎兒的心臟、大腦和其他器官中。
英文來源：衛報
翻譯&編輯：丹妮