The latest episode of our Counting the Earth podcast is here! Listen now.
Microplastics are everywhere—tiny plastic particles that permeate our soil, water, food, drinking supplies, and even our bodies. But how much do we actually understand about their long-term effects on our health and the environment?
In this episode, Alice visits UKCEH labs in Wallingford to explore these questions. Pollution scientist Dr Richard Cross shares insights into how microplastics impact the environment, and Dr Gbotemi Adediran introduces the innovative CoreMis facility, which is pushing the boundaries by studying even smaller particles: nanoplastics, which are so tiny they're invisible to the naked eye.
Also, Sue discusses how microplastics are present in the air we breathe and what that could mean for human health with Dr Stephanie Wright, from the Medical Research Council’s Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College London.
The number for this episode is 115. This relates to the fact that Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic was patented 115 years ago.
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Produced by Rachael Buchanan
A Boffin Media production for the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Related links
Microplastics factsheet [PDF]