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The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Tissue accumulation of microplastics and potential health risks in human

Open access
Zhu, Long, Kang, Yulin, Ma, Mindong, Wu, Zhixin, Zhang, Le, Hu, Rongxuan, Xu, Qiujin, Zhu, Jingying, Gu, Xiaohong, An, Lihui·2024·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

Microplastics have become ubiquitous throughout the environment. Humans constantly ingest and inhale microplastics, increasing concerns about the health risks of microplastic exposure. However, limited data impedes a full understanding of the internal exposure to microplastics. Herein, to evaluate microplastic exposure via the respiratory and digestive systems, we used laser direct infrared spectroscopy to identify microplastics >20 μm in size in different human tissues. Consequently, 20-100 μm microplastics were concentrated in all tissues, with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) being the dominant polymer. The highest abundance of microplastics was detected in lung tissue with an average of 14.19 ± 14.57 particles/g, followed by that in the small intestine, large intestine, and tonsil (9.45 ± 13.13, 7.91 ± 7.00, and 6.03 ± 7.37 particles/g, respectively). The abundance of microplastics was also significantly greater in females than in males (p < 0.05). Despite significant diversity, our estimation showed that the lungs accumulated the highest amounts of microplastic. Moreover, PVC particles may cause potential health risks because of their high polymer hazard index and maximal risk level. This study provides evidence regarding the occurrence of microplastics in humans and empirical data to support assessments of the health risks posed by microplastics.

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Metadata

Authors
Zhu, L., Kang, Y., Ma, M., Wu, Z., Zhang, L., Hu, R., Xu, Q., Zhu, J., Gu, X., & An, L.
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2024-03
Volume
915
Pages
170004
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4390889545
Cited by
286
References
13
FWCI
25.81
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
hybrid

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Tissue accumulation of microplastics and potential health risks in human. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170004
The paper
Zhu, L., Kang, Y., Ma, M., Wu, Z., Zhang, L., Hu, R., Xu, Q., Zhu, J., Gu, X., & An, L. (2024). Tissue accumulation of microplastics and potential health risks in human. Science of The Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170004

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Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.