TAGS: Flame Retardants
A new study at the University of Birmingham shows human sweat has been found to leach toxic chemicals out of microplastics and are potentially making them available to be absorbed through skin.
The team looked at microplastics taken from common forms of plastic and tested them with a synthetic sweat in a lab. They analyzed the bio accessibility of brominated flame retardants (a class of chemical used to improve the performance of plastics) after microplastics have come into contact with sweat.
Constant Exposure of Skin with Chemicals
These found that in all examples, the toxic chemicals leached out of the plastic particles and as a result, these chemicals may be absorbed through layers of skin.
The paper, published in Environmental Science and Technology found that polyethylene microplastics were the worst for bio accessibility of the flame-retardant chemicals which have been previously found in animal studies to cause adverse health effects including neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and cancer.
Dr Ovokeroye Abafe, Marie-Curie Research fellow at the University of Birmingham and first author of the paper said, “
The study provides new insights into the risk that arises from our exposure to microplastics in daily life. Our skin is constantly exposed to microplastics either through our clothing, cosmetics, indoor and outdoor dust particles, or even from the air.”
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We have shown the first experimental evidence that toxic additive chemicals can leach out from microplastics to our sweat and become available for absorption through the skin. This raises concern over potential adverse effects of these chemicals, including endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, obesity, and cancer”, Dr Abafe concluded.
Source: University of Birmingham