Are microplastics affecting our health? - The Evidence podcast, BBC World Service

Scientists say they have found microplastics in human organs like the brain, gut and even in our blood.

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So what is the evidence that microplastics are changing our bodies and affecting our health? Claudia Hammond puts your questions to environmental toxicologist Dr Stephanie Wright from Imperial College London, materials scientist and science writer Professor Mark Miodownik from University College London and Shilpa Chokshi, Professor of Experimental Hepatology at Plymouth University.

00:00 Introduction
00:52 Welcoming the experts
01:49 What are microplastics and where do they come from?
03:45 How do they get into our bodies?
05:24 How much plastic might we be consuming?
07:32 Where in our bodies might they end up?
14:33 How can we detect microplastics in human bodies?
23:42 Question marks around some of the research
27:02 Are microplastics in our bodies definitely harmful?
33:28 Do microplastics accumulate or break down?
35:44 What studies are happening now?
38:43 Is there a way of filtering out plastics?
41:52 What impact does microwaving food in plastic have?
43:39 Do we have to choose between the environment and our health?
47:06 Ways to cut down on microplastics

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