UN summit exposes major human health issue present across the globe: 'The more we know, the worse the situation appears'

Microplastics — tiny particles of broken-down plastic — are present throughout the world today in soil, water, and even in raindrops. These small particulates might not seem like a big problem at first glance, but they have been shown to impact human health — and there's nowhere we can go to get away from them.

With the situation growing more grim, the U.N. is holding a summit to discuss plastic pollution, per Euronews.

What's happening?

Winnie Lau, a researcher from the Pew Charitable Trusts, presented preliminary data on the problem at a U.N. forum in late October. "The more we know, the worse the situation appears," she said, according to Euronews.

Lau estimated that in 2019, over 12.5 million tons of plastic entered the environment. "To give you a sense of scale, 11.4 million metric tons is equivalent to a fully loaded shipping container of microbeads entering the environment every two minutes," she said, per Euronews.

Some of the plastic entering the environment comes in the form of small pellets of raw plastic called nurdles. Other sources include mechanical recycling, textiles, and plastic particles intentionally added to cleaning and hygiene products. The biggest offenders are discarded tires and paint.

Why is plastic pollution important?

As Richard Thompson, the researcher who coined the term "microplastics" in a paper 20 years ago, told Euronews, these plastic particles aren't just a problem for the environment.

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"What the science is now showing us is that microplastic pollution is literally everywhere, from our highest mountains to our deepest oceans," he said. "And, of course, they're also present in all of the species across the planet as well."

That includes humans, unfortunately. People around the globe now have microplastics in our blood and tissues, and even unborn children are being exposed, as one study of human placentas revealed.

The full health effects of this problem are still unknown. But plastics contain many known toxins, and microplastics have been linked to cancer.

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What's being done about plastic pollution?

U.N. negotiators will meet on Nov. 25 in Busan, South Korea, to create an international treaty on plastic pollution, Euronews reported. The hope is that an international agreement will lead to policy changes in member countries that will help curb further pollution before the situation can get any worse.