Nanoplastics: Humanity's Invisible Crisis

When humanity first synthesized plastic in the early twentieth century, it revolutionized civilization. Light, versatile, and durable, polymers reshaped medicine, manufacturing, and global trade. Yet no one could have foreseen that this material, created to make life easier, would ultimately alter the human organism and even the atmosphere at the molecular level and beyond. Over decades, discarded polymers have fragmented into microscopic and nanoscale particles—nanoplastics, defined as synthetic polymer fragments smaller than one micrometer. These particles now circulate through air, water, soil, and the tissues of living organisms, silently altering the chemistry of the biosphere.

A Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Study

The new analytical study "Nanoplastics in the Biosphere: From Molecular Impact to Planetary Crisis," published by the ALLATRA Global Research Center, a think tank of the ALLATRA International Public Movement. The report was reviewed by the Exact Sciences and Engineering Research Center (CICEI) of the Bolivian Catholic University (UCB) and the Department of Research, Science, and Technology (DICyT) of the Autonomous University Juan Misael Saracho. This report appears to be the first comprehensive document to present a fully interdisciplinary overview of this global threat. Drawing from physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and geophysics, it positions micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) not merely as pollutants, but as a macroeconomic, geopolitical, and civilizational challenge.

The report integrates over 300 peer-reviewed sources, including high-impact works from Science, Nature, The Lancet Planetary Health, and PNAS, and data from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), WHO, and IPCC. Its conclusion is unequivocal: plastic contamination has reached every level of Earth's system—from the molecular to the planetary.

One of the report's key scientific insights is the identification of electrostatic charge as the main driver of nanoplastics' destructive behavior. Their ability to retain charge allows these particles to penetrate cells, cross biological barriers, and persist in organisms. The same property affects atmospheric processes, making electrostatic charge a core mechanism of nanoplastics' biological and environmental disruption.

The Scale of Contamination

Using authoritative global statistics, ALLATRA's team demonstrates the enormity of the crisis. Humanity now generates more than 400 million tons of plastic waste annually, and since the 1950s, roughly 9.2 billion metric tons have been produced. Approximately 11 million tons enter the oceans each year—figures derived from Jambeck et al. (2015, Science)—while by 2050, according to Geyer et al. (2017, Science Advances), the mass of plastics in the sea may exceed that of all fish. In some regions of the North Pacific Gyre, Moore et al. (2001, Marine Pollution Bulletin) observed that floating plastics already outweigh zooplankton sixfold. According to the report, in the surface layer of the ocean alone, there are approximately 350 trillion plastic micro-particles (Eriksen et al., 2023). However, in reality, their number is many times greater. Scientists acknowledge that 90 percent of nanoplastic particles are too small to be detected by existing instruments.

Micro- and nanoplastics have now been detected from the Mariana Trench (Peng et al., 2018, Geochem. Persp. Lett.) to the summit of Mount Everest, confirming that no ecosystem remains untouched.

The report notes that people regularly inhale significant amounts of micro- and nanoplastics. In large cities, an adult may inhale up to 106,000 particles during a two-hour walk, with levels near bodies of water increasing tenfold. This exposure is especially dangerous, as charged particles can reach the lungs, bloodstream, and even the brain via the olfactory nerves (Huang Yi et al., 2024).

Perhaps most alarming is the evidence of bioaccumulation of nanoplastics within human organs. Drawing on recent data from Nature Medicine (Nihart et al., 2025), the report notes that microplastic concentration in brain tissue is 7–30 times higher than in the liver or kidneys, and has increased by 50 percent between 2016 and 2024.

Cellular and Physiological Impact

At the molecular level, nanoplastics initiate a cascade of intracellular damage. Studies compiled in the report (Li et al., 2021; Tao et al., 2024; Lin et al., 2025) show that they breach cell membranes, disrupt mitochondrial respiration, and generate reactive oxygen species that cause DNA mutation and cellular apoptosis. These effects manifest across all tissue types—neural, muscular, pulmonary, and reproductive.

The resulting disorders include inflammation-driven cancers, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, endocrine disruption, infertility, and developmental abnormalities in children. According to the report, nanoplastics act as systemic molecular agents that compromise both genetic stability and cognitive capacity, posing a long-term biological risk to humanity's continuity.

Climate Impact

The study suggests that MNP accumulation in the oceans may be altering heat-transfer properties of seawater, lowering its thermal conductivity and thus trapping heat near the surface. This mechanism could contribute to accelerated ocean warming and increasing atmospheric instability, offering an additional factor behind intensifying hurricanes and extreme weather events.

Novel Mechanisms and Proposed Solutions

A distinctive element of ALLATRA's research is its focus on the electrostatic properties of nanoplastics. The report identifies surface charge as a primary factor in the particles' biological reactivity—the charge enables them to retain energy, interfere with cellular bioelectricity, and cross biological barriers more readily.

The quote from the report states: "The electrostatic charge of nanoplastics allows them to freely interfere with the function of every cell in the human body, penetrating cells, causing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, impairing mitochondrial function, and potentially leading to mitochondrial destruction and cell death. The study (Dante, S. et al.) has demonstrated that negatively charged nanoparticles can induce depolarization of neuronal membranes, altering their electrical activity."

The ALLATRA scientific group was the first to propose a strategic direction: to deprive nanoplastics of their ability to accumulate and retain an electric charge. If this can be achieved, micro- and nanoplastics would lose much of their destructive potential.

Scientific Perspective

Through the report "Nanoplastics in the Biosphere: From Molecular Impact to Planetary Crisis," the ALLATRA International Public Movement has set a new benchmark for integrated environmental research. The document reframes micro- and nanoplastics as a trans-biological and trans-geophysical force—one capable of influencing cellular health, ecosystem stability, and even planetary energy balance.

Rather than a conventional environmental report, it reads as a systems-level analysis of civilization's material legacy. By consolidating evidence from multiple disciplines and proposing actionable scientific pathways, ALLATRA's work compels the global community to treat the nanoplastic crisis not as peripheral pollution, but as a defining scientific and ethical frontier of the twenty-first century.