How do whales get microplastics into their bodies?

Scientists at Stanford University found microplastics in the bodies of whales. The reason was that whales absorb debris along with plankton, writes Belarus Today.

Environmentalists watched 200 whales in areas where they had previously recorded the largest accumulations of plastic trash on the planet. The researchers found that mammals of one of the test groups consume about 10 million particles of plastic every day. In other words, plastic accumulates in the bodies of animals very quickly, and it causes health problems for whales.

The baleen whales are the largest mammals in the world today. They feed on planktonic mollusks, crustaceans and small fish.

Earlier, it was reported that there may be traces of microplastics in human blood as well. Now the scientific community is investigating whether such compounds can transform cells and cause carcinogenesis.