Microplastic particles were recently discovered in human blood for the first time. The study, commissioned by the non-profit Common Seas, found that nearly 80% of the U.K. trial group had tested positive.

The plastic particles, which contain chemicals harmful to humans, can travel through our membranes and may even lodge in organs. Yet there is almost no research on the short and long term consequences.

This is a potential public health crisis that must be immediately addressed: Each day, we’re all exposed to plastic, and the global production of plastic is on course to double by 2030 according to the UN, which will only exacerbate associated risks. But knowledge is power, and the first step to tackling this problem is knowing exactly how our #pollutedveins will affect us.

Join Only One and Common Seas, alongside more than 80 NGOs, scientists and MPs, and urge the UK government to allocate £15 million ($19 million) from an existing research fund to study the human health impacts of plastic. 

*60,278 of the signatures reflected on this page are carried over from a similar petition by Common Seas’ founder, Jo Royle, on change.org