Micro- and nanoplastics, found in the plaque within our arteries, are born from the ubiquitous presence of plastics in our environment. They are raising eyebrows and heart rates among scientists and physicians, courtesy of a groundbreaking study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Plastic Plague: Unwelcome Guests in Your Arteries? (Chuck Dinerstein, MD, MBA — March 18, 2024) https://www.acsh.org/news/2024/03/18/plastic-plague-unwelcome-guests-your-arteries-17722
This is how Chuck Dinerstein, MD, MBA at the American Council of Science and Health begins a very balanced view of the state of knowledge of what we know and what we don’t know plastics being found in our arteries. It is well worth your time to read the article.
There can be little doubt that our air, food, and water are contaminated with MNPs [micro and nanoplastics] and can be inhaled or ingested. There have been many studies of these particulates in “model organisms,” such as rodents and fish. MNPs might cause harm….But the key word is might; we simply do not know, as current researchers point out.
Of course, findings such as this has not stopped politicians and environmentalists from jumping to conclusions on how to address and fix what they are sure needs to be addressed and fixed by fiat and force.
Have no fear that California is anxious to be the first to leverage any possible moral panic into full blown regulations. California Senate Bill No. 1422 (2018) requires the State Water Board to:
(1) adopt a standard methodology to be used in the testing of drinking water for microplastics;
Proposed Definition of Microplastics in Drinking Water https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/documents/microplastics/stffrpt_def_mcrplstcs.pdf
(2) adopt requirements for four (4) years of testing and reporting of microplastics in drinking water, including public disclosure of those results;
(3) consider issuing a notification level or other guidance to aid consumer interpretation of results; and
(4) accredit qualified California laboratories to analyze microplastics.
You might think that California lawmakers are just being proactive…that they want to be on the forefront if MNPs (micro and nanoplastics) are indeed hazardous…that they are applying the precautionary principle to plastic pollution. You might think that.
Let’s assume that MNPs accumulate in our arteries, and that they do the same in other species. Let’s assume that plastics are a problem in the oceans, lakes, and streams, and that various forms of plastics kill non-target species by various means. These are not great leaps of imagination to assume that plastics can cause problems.
That said. Are plastics a net positive or a net negative?
Nullius in Verba 
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