[ad_1]
Microplastics were found in genital tissue samples from six men being treated for erectile dysfunction. Scientists at the University of Miami and Germany’s Helmholtz-Zentrum Herren said the findings “raise questions about the impact of environmental pollutants on sexual health.”
Microplastics are the most common byproduct of plastic waste that breaks down in nature and is carelessly discarded. These fragments can be up to 5 mm in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice.
The pollutant is ubiquitous; it “enters the atmosphere, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, and permeates seafood, sea salt and bottled beverages,” the researchers said.
The study, published in the International Journal of Impotence Research, comes less than a month after a team of scientists from the University of New Mexico found microplastics in the testicles of humans and dogs.
Other recent studies have shown that even smaller plastics, called nanoplastics, can enter the human bloodstream and be passed from mother to baby in the womb.
According to a recent announcement from the European Parliament, the amount of plastic packaging waste in the EU “increased from 66 million tonnes in 2009 to 84 million tonnes in 2021”.
Other estimates suggest that the amount of plastic waste generated globally exceeds 400 million tonnes per year. In recent years, wealthy countries have been accused of exporting their waste to be disposed of in landfills in Asia, which in effect spreads microplastic pollution.
Games of chance can be addictive. 18+.
[ad_2]
Source link
