Can microplastics harm us?
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Plastic is in everything from synthetic clothing to take-out food containers, car tires and hospital IV bags.
Now we know it’s also in our bodies.
As plastic is manufactured, used and thrown away it sheds tiny bits and fibers that make their way into the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.
Microplastics have been found in human breast milk, placenta, testicles, hearts and more.
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MPR News guest host Euan Kerr talks with a doctor and a researcher about where plastic is showing up, how it might be getting there and how researchers are trying to tease out links between microplastics and human health.
Guests:
Dr. Zeke McKinney is an occupational and environmental physician and researcher with HealthPartners. He’s also an affiliate associate professor in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Sciences.
Mary Kosuth is an assistant researcher and PhD candidate in Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on microplastics.
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