SCIENCE

How much should we worry about the health effects of microplastics?


New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

There are small pieces of plastic in the food we eat and air we breathe

SIVStockStudio/Shutterst​ock

It seems that every few months we discover microplastics in a new part of the body. We have found them in our liver, kidneys, lungs and gut. They have even shown up in human breast milk and blood. Last week, they turned up again in eight people’s olfactory bulb, a brain structure crucial for smell.

These plastic fragments are so small – less than five millimetres in size – that they can make their way into our bodies through food, water and even…



Source link

PennsylvaniaDigitalNews.com