Microplastics: Dresden blood‑cleansing study and Danube river hotspot mapping

Researchers at TU Dresden, led by Charlotte Steenblock of the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, have demonstrated that apheresis – a blood‑filtration technique similar to dialysis – can remove PFAS and microplastic particles from human blood. The procedure, already performed thousands of times each year, showed promise in laboratory tests, though the health impacts of the pollutants remain uncertain. Steenblock described the method as “a bit like dialysis, like blood‑washing.”

A separate investigation by Wasser 3.0 GmbH sampled 687 km of the Danube from its source in Donaueschingen to Aschach. The analysis revealed highly localized microplastic hotspots at wastewater‑treatment plant outflows, tributary mouths and slow‑flow river bends, while long stretches showed little or no contamination. The findings are being uploaded to a global microplastic map to enable targeted mitigation. Dr. Katrin Schujen noted, “What we see is not a uniformly polluted Danube, but a chain of entry points with clean sections in between.”