By now, the widespread, multi-pronged risks linked to microplastics and "forever chemicals" are well-documented and ever-present in the news cycle.
Typically, microplastics are viewed through the lens of where they are — best summarized as "everywhere." After this form of pollution was named in 2004, research began to find microplastics in the air, the water, the soil, wildlife, and in most parts of the human body.
Two decades after microplastics entered the literature, "avoidance" remains the default approach to limit exposure, as is usually the case with PFAS, too.
However, the Washington Post recently examined "costly treatments" designed to filter or remove microplastics and PFAS, a form of contamination also known as "forever chemicals," from the human body.
In a sense, microplastics and PFAS are something of an environmental equalizer; even the ultra-wealthy are not shielded from their pervasive reach. In that respect, these ubiquitous contaminants also represent a marketing opportunity for new technologies.
The Post spoke with Mike Petegorsky, who began to fret about the risks of microplastics and "other environmental toxins" like PFAS in the lead-up to his daughter's birth. Discarding plasticware and installing a whole-home water filter did nothing to allay his fears.
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Petegorsky's ultimate "feeling of futility" led him to a clinic in Switzerland, where he underwent a blood filtering procedure in May 2024. After the treatment, he enlisted "medical-device entrepreneur" Carlos Schuster to form Proxima Health with the intent of scaling the procedure.
Their venture was one of several identified by the Post, from a $50 probiotic supplement designed to "stick" to plastic particles to a blood-filtering procedure priced at as much as $13,000.
Known as "apheresis," the procedure has diverse medical applications. Its use to filter microplastics and PFAS from blood is relatively novel, with scant evidence to support its efficacy.
Experts conceded that apheresis could be effective at removing these contaminants from the blood but noted that the procedure would do little to dislodge toxins in tissue and organs. Moreover, they expressed concern that the approach was a stopgap measure at best.
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I want them out now 🚫 Oregon State University ecotoxicologist Susanne Brander pointed out the biggest issue with such procedures: inevitable future contamination.
"If you're a human living in the modern world, you're going to be exposed to microplastics. You could have this treatment done and reduce the levels that are circulating at that time, but you're going to be reexposed," Brander explained.
Ultimately, an effective means to filter microplastics and PFAS from the body has yet to be identified — but using less plastic and replacing everyday plastic items limits direct exposure and costs way less than $13,000.
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