Microplastics—What Will History Decide?

In considering whether microplastics might be likened to soot or asbestos particles with respect to the improvement or deterioration of human life, the history of plastic and its uses in today’s world, as well as the locations and effects of microplastics, are discussed in a review with 168 citations. Plastics have a wealth of uses in modern industry, including healthcare, and have, over the years, saved hundreds of millions of human lives, while the industrial revolution, despite its soot-producing machines, has clearly improved millions of lives. Airborne microplastics are similar to soot in their pulmonary uptake and concentration as well as their ability to disfigure buildings. Many of their physical properties are similar to soot, whereas asbestos fibres are smaller and less chemically varied than microplastics. All three types of particles cause inflammatory cellular responses, but only soot and asbestos are proven causes of lung disease in humans. Microplastics are also found in land and, especially, water. Environmental problems caused by microplastics in all these environments are described and the environmental concerns of the industries involved touched upon. Governmental controls exist in many counties for soot and asbestos, but there are no standards controlling microplastics emissions; current talks on global plastic controls have recently broken down. Various industries are considering alternative plastic-based products, responding to public opinion, and potential control measures - increasing degradation, or substituting traditional fossil fuel-based plastics with biodegradable plastics - are under consideration.The final appreciation of dangers and control of plastics and microplastics will rest with history.