Bluewater, a world leader in innovating water purification solutions, today said there was an urgent need to double down on tackling micro-plastic pollution as a new study for the first time reveals the presence of the particles in human blood.
“A study by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands showing the presence of polymer particles in our blood underlines the urgent need to accelerate efforts to halt the spread of micro-plastics and the resulting exposure to the chemicals in them,” said Bluewater founder and CEO Bengt Rittri.
Published in the the journal Environment International, the study analysed blood samples from 22 healthy individuals and discovered 17 – or 80 percent – had plastic particles in their blood stream, including PET plastic which is used in drinks bottles. The study also found plastics from packaged food and plastic bags.
“We know that micro-plastics are in the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink, yet the evidence the particles and the chemicals they contain are in our blood is frankly shocking,” said Bengt Rittri. He noted that Bluewater has waged a campaign against single-use plastic bottles since its founding in 2013.
A Swedish environmental entrepreneur, Mr Rittri has spurred the development of a zero plastic bottle business model that enables events, festivals, and other public dispensing operations to harness a planet-friendly hydration ecosphere combining Bluewater’s water purification solutions with the firm’s sustainable water bottles.
In a white paper entitled ‘The Global Plastic Calamity’ published four years ago, Bluewater dubbed the endocrine disrupting chemicals found in micro plastic particles as the ‘Number 1 threat to humankind’ for the way they impact human hormone function. The potential consequences include abnormal development and illnesses ranging from stunted fertility and male/female sex malformations to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks.
