From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. This is the morning edition. I'm Samantha Salinger Morris. It's Wednesday, August 28th. A new American study has found microplastics in brain tissue at levels of up to 30 times higher than in other tissues in the body. This comes after years of disparate research, which has found microplastics in other parts of the human body, like the heart and the placenta. Today, science reporter Angus Dalton, on whether this is, as one toxicologist has put it, a global emergency and whether microplastics might have been acting for decades as the dark matter driving all sorts of health issues like dementia and plunging male fertility. So, Angus, before we get into this somewhat alarming research, can you please remind us of what microplastics actually are? Because many listeners, I imagine, Ah, like myself, I've heard of them and how they've made their way into the stomachs of fish and so forth. But really, after that it's a bit of a blank.

From the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. This is the morning edition. I'm Samantha Salinger Morris. It's Wednesday, August 28th. A new American study has found microplastics in brain tissue at levels of up to 30 times higher than in other tissues in the body. This comes after years of disparate research, which has found microplastics in other parts of the human body, like the heart and the placenta. Today, science reporter Angus Dalton, on whether this is, as one toxicologist has put it, a global emergency and whether microplastics might have been acting for decades as the dark matter driving all sorts of health issues like dementia and plunging male fertility. So, Angus, before we get into this somewhat alarming research, can you please remind us of what microplastics actually are? Because many listeners, I imagine, Ah, like myself, I've heard of them and how they've made their way into the stomachs of fish and so forth. But really, after that it's a bit of a blank.

Yeah. So microplastics, as you might imagine, are tiny shards or pieces of plastic that get into the environment and the animals within it, including us. They're defined as pieces of plastic less than five millimetres in size. And there's also nanoplastics, which are smaller than a micrometer, which is 100th of a millimetre. So they're extremely teeny tiny, and they're small enough that they can actually enter cells. So with microplastics and nanoplastics together, that's what we're sort of talking about here when we're talking about plastic getting into the human body. So they come from plastic drink bottles, food containers, toiletries, synthetic fibres and clothes, carpets, blankets. Almost every modern convenience you can think of is probably shedding microplastics. And over the last couple of years, scientists have essentially found them everywhere. I mean, the commonly cited factoid you've probably heard is that microplastics have been found at the top of Mount Everest and the bottom of the Mariana Trench. But also, I guess over the last few years, it's sort of been a process of all of these new studies coming out, and there's just this ever growing laundry list of human tissue and bodily fluids that microplastics have been found in. So that now includes blood, breast milk, our hearts, lungs and recently in bone marrow. I mean, it's so alarming.

Yeah. So microplastics, as you might imagine, are tiny shards or pieces of plastic that get into the environment and the animals within it, including us. They're defined as pieces of plastic less than five millimetres in size. And there's also nanoplastics, which are smaller than a micrometer, which is 100th of a millimetre. So they're extremely teeny tiny, and they're small enough that they can actually enter cells. So with microplastics and nanoplastics together, that's what we're sort of talking about here when we're talking about plastic getting into the human body. So they come from plastic drink bottles, food containers, toiletries, synthetic fibres and clothes, carpets, blankets. Almost every modern convenience you can think of is probably shedding microplastics. And over the last couple of years, scientists have essentially found them everywhere. I mean, the commonly cited factoid you've probably heard is that microplastics have been found at the top of Mount Everest and the bottom of the Mariana Trench. But also, I guess over the last few years, it's sort of been a process of all of these new studies coming out, and there's just this ever growing laundry list of human tissue and bodily fluids that microplastics have been found in. So that now includes blood, breast milk, our hearts, lungs and recently in bone marrow. I mean, it's so alarming.

I'm going to take a moment there, but I really did want to ask you about this new American study, because it, of course, has found microplastics in brain tissue. So what exactly has it found?

I'm going to take a moment there, but I really did want to ask you about this new American study, because it, of course, has found microplastics in brain tissue. So what exactly has it found?

Yeah. So this study is a preprint study. So it's not yet peer reviewed. So that's the first caveat that we'll get into a little bit later. But it was completed by a guy called Doctor Matthew Campen who's a toxicologist from the University of New Mexico in the US. He's made the news a few times already this year because he's discovered, through papers that have been peer reviewed and published, microplastics in every single sample of human testicles he's looked at, and every single placenta that's out of 23 human testicle samples and 62 placenta samples. But in this latest study, he tested 24 human brains and found micro and nanoplastics at really high levels, according to his data. 7 to 30 times higher than other tissues in the body, including the liver and kidneys.

Yeah. So this study is a preprint study. So it's not yet peer reviewed. So that's the first caveat that we'll get into a little bit later. But it was completed by a guy called Doctor Matthew Campen who's a toxicologist from the University of New Mexico in the US. He's made the news a few times already this year because he's discovered, through papers that have been peer reviewed and published, microplastics in every single sample of human testicles he's looked at, and every single placenta that's out of 23 human testicle samples and 62 placenta samples. But in this latest study, he tested 24 human brains and found micro and nanoplastics at really high levels, according to his data. 7 to 30 times higher than other tissues in the body, including the liver and kidneys.

New research reveals. These pollutants microplastics are probably in all of our organs and the most impacted may be your brain.

New research reveals. These pollutants microplastics are probably in all of our organs and the most impacted may be your brain.

Scientists believe that over time, the plastic in our body can lead to a cascading range of symptoms. It could also.

Scientists believe that over time, the plastic in our body can lead to a cascading range of symptoms. It could also.

Been linked to cancers. Heart attacks and strokes have triggered alarm within the medical community. Experts warn it will only get worse as more and more plastic gets used.

Been linked to cancers. Heart attacks and strokes have triggered alarm within the medical community. Experts warn it will only get worse as more and more plastic gets used.

And the other important part of these findings, according to Campen, is that they did this analysis previously with a similar amount of brains back in 2016, and since those samples were tested and now in 2024, the level of microplastics in this brain tissue had increased by 50% over the last eight years or so on average. And the most alarming statistic to come out of all of this was that the level of microplastic campaign reported in these brain samples was so high, it amounted to 0.5% of those brain tissue samples by weight.

And the other important part of these findings, according to Campen, is that they did this analysis previously with a similar amount of brains back in 2016, and since those samples were tested and now in 2024, the level of microplastics in this brain tissue had increased by 50% over the last eight years or so on average. And the most alarming statistic to come out of all of this was that the level of microplastic campaign reported in these brain samples was so high, it amounted to 0.5% of those brain tissue samples by weight.

And we're talking about an adult human brain probably has around 5 to 10g of plastic that's about the size of a plastic spoon, but they're nanoplastics, so you can't even see them without very elaborate, sophisticated scientific.

And we're talking about an adult human brain probably has around 5 to 10g of plastic that's about the size of a plastic spoon, but they're nanoplastics, so you can't even see them without very elaborate, sophisticated scientific.

That's a lot. That's a lot to take in. So can you tell me what toxicologist doctor Matthew Campen had actually said about his own results? Because he actually shocked himself, didn't he?

That's a lot. That's a lot to take in. So can you tell me what toxicologist doctor Matthew Campen had actually said about his own results? Because he actually shocked himself, didn't he?

Yeah, he was shocked. It was pretty alarming. Here's what he said to me verbatim when I asked him what he made of these results. He said we anticipated the brain would be protected from the plastics and were completely wrong. Our initial thoughts were that the liver would bear the brunt of the absorption from all the food we eat, and then clear the plastics. The concentrations in the brain were so surprising. We shared samples of the plastics with a colleague in Oklahoma, and his lab came back with the same answer. So yeah, there was a level of surprise, particularly given that it seemed like, in terms of their testing, that the level of microplastics in brain tissue was actually increasing.

Yeah, he was shocked. It was pretty alarming. Here's what he said to me verbatim when I asked him what he made of these results. He said we anticipated the brain would be protected from the plastics and were completely wrong. Our initial thoughts were that the liver would bear the brunt of the absorption from all the food we eat, and then clear the plastics. The concentrations in the brain were so surprising. We shared samples of the plastics with a colleague in Oklahoma, and his lab came back with the same answer. So yeah, there was a level of surprise, particularly given that it seemed like, in terms of their testing, that the level of microplastics in brain tissue was actually increasing.

And you mentioned before, you know, just how pervasive microplastics are. You know, you mentioned at the top of Mount Everest, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, but levels are actually increasing, aren't they?

And you mentioned before, you know, just how pervasive microplastics are. You know, you mentioned at the top of Mount Everest, at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, but levels are actually increasing, aren't they?

Yeah, that's that's another thing that Doctor Campbell says, that you can sort of draw a line between the level of microplastics in the environment and the level that they seem to be discovering in human tissues. So it's sort of as it increases in the environment, it seems, from this very small preliminary study that it could be increasing in the human body as well.

Yeah, that's that's another thing that Doctor Campbell says, that you can sort of draw a line between the level of microplastics in the environment and the level that they seem to be discovering in human tissues. So it's sort of as it increases in the environment, it seems, from this very small preliminary study that it could be increasing in the human body as well.

And I did want to get back to what you mentioned earlier, just a little bit, which is that there's a little bit of a caveat to this study because they are preliminary results. It's a relatively small sample size. So can you go into that a little bit? Yeah.

And I did want to get back to what you mentioned earlier, just a little bit, which is that there's a little bit of a caveat to this study because they are preliminary results. It's a relatively small sample size. So can you go into that a little bit? Yeah.

I mean this is where sort of the scientific aspect of it gets really interesting. There are a couple of important caveats to this before we completely freak out. The first being that this particular piece of research hasn't been peer reviewed, which is a really important part of the scientific process by which experts that weren't involved with the study look over it, read the methods, the analysis, the conclusions, and make sure everything was above board before it gets published. The other caveat is that a lot of other experts in the field aren't convinced that we have sophisticated enough analysis methods yet to accurately measure levels of plastic in human tissue. I mean, nanoplastics can be extremely small, 100,000 times smaller than human hair. The size of smoke particles or the size of a single particle of Covid 19 virus, for example. So it's by no means simple to try and pinpoint exactly how much plastic is in a tissue sample, even in this brain paper. Campen and his colleagues admit that their analysis methods aren't yet widely adopted and refined. The other issue is contamination. You know, like we've said, microplastics are so ubiquitous that the risk of samples getting contaminated with plastic from other sources is really, really high. And in fact, there's this extremely cool lab that has been built at the University of Queensland, built entirely of steel. It's like something from X-Men and all of the paint and the finishings and everything has been basically, they made sure that there was no chance of plastic contamination so they can do this sort of research. And also the lab scientists there wear these really brightly colored, completely cotton lab coats to make sure that a, there's none of those synthetic plastic fibers shedding into their samples. And B, if there is any shedding from their clothing, it can very easily be identified and clean up. So these are the sort of lengths that scientists have to go to to make sure that their samples aren't contaminated with microplastic, and they can get a really accurate result when they're testing human tissue. And I guess the other thing is, you know, this whole realm of research is relatively new. Like I said, we're only just sort of building out the laundry list of where microplastics are gathering in the body. And in terms of figuring out the health effects of that, the research is even more nascent. So, you know, these studies are really small. You know, we've only got 24 brain samples. That's not a big sample by any means. So we do need to take this finding with a grain of salt and accept that if our brains really do have that much plastic and that did have an acute health effect, it would have already struck, you know, I mean, I constantly feel bedraggled and foggy, and I'd love to be able to put that down to microplastics, but I think I'd be feeling like that at the moment anyway. Sam.

I mean this is where sort of the scientific aspect of it gets really interesting. There are a couple of important caveats to this before we completely freak out. The first being that this particular piece of research hasn't been peer reviewed, which is a really important part of the scientific process by which experts that weren't involved with the study look over it, read the methods, the analysis, the conclusions, and make sure everything was above board before it gets published. The other caveat is that a lot of other experts in the field aren't convinced that we have sophisticated enough analysis methods yet to accurately measure levels of plastic in human tissue. I mean, nanoplastics can be extremely small, 100,000 times smaller than human hair. The size of smoke particles or the size of a single particle of Covid 19 virus, for example. So it's by no means simple to try and pinpoint exactly how much plastic is in a tissue sample, even in this brain paper. Campen and his colleagues admit that their analysis methods aren't yet widely adopted and refined. The other issue is contamination. You know, like we've said, microplastics are so ubiquitous that the risk of samples getting contaminated with plastic from other sources is really, really high. And in fact, there's this extremely cool lab that has been built at the University of Queensland, built entirely of steel. It's like something from X-Men and all of the paint and the finishings and everything has been basically, they made sure that there was no chance of plastic contamination so they can do this sort of research. And also the lab scientists there wear these really brightly colored, completely cotton lab coats to make sure that a, there's none of those synthetic plastic fibers shedding into their samples. And B, if there is any shedding from their clothing, it can very easily be identified and clean up. So these are the sort of lengths that scientists have to go to to make sure that their samples aren't contaminated with microplastic, and they can get a really accurate result when they're testing human tissue. And I guess the other thing is, you know, this whole realm of research is relatively new. Like I said, we're only just sort of building out the laundry list of where microplastics are gathering in the body. And in terms of figuring out the health effects of that, the research is even more nascent. So, you know, these studies are really small. You know, we've only got 24 brain samples. That's not a big sample by any means. So we do need to take this finding with a grain of salt and accept that if our brains really do have that much plastic and that did have an acute health effect, it would have already struck, you know, I mean, I constantly feel bedraggled and foggy, and I'd love to be able to put that down to microplastics, but I think I'd be feeling like that at the moment anyway. Sam.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I would love to put down to plastics too, although I'm pretty sure it's just poor life choices, you know, lack of sleep scrolling.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I would love to put down to plastics too, although I'm pretty sure it's just poor life choices, you know, lack of sleep scrolling.

Absolutely. No. So we cannot use that as a, as an explanation for our general fogginess and disorganization. I'm so sorry.

Absolutely. No. So we cannot use that as a, as an explanation for our general fogginess and disorganization. I'm so sorry.

We'll be right back. I did want to just follow on from what you're saying about, you know, the fact that these are preliminary results. The research is quite new. So what then, do you make of Doctor Cameron's claim that plastics may be dark matter driving health issues for decades, including dementia and declining male fertility.

We'll be right back. I did want to just follow on from what you're saying about, you know, the fact that these are preliminary results. The research is quite new. So what then, do you make of Doctor Cameron's claim that plastics may be dark matter driving health issues for decades, including dementia and declining male fertility.

Yeah, I thought that was a really interesting quote. I mean, he does frame that as speculation. There are some mysterious health trends in the world that we don't have an answer for or, you know, we don't know the reasons necessarily underpinning them yet, like declining fertility. And I think plastics and how they interact with already known risk factors for things like brain disease, like air pollution, will continue to be scrutinized. What I can tell you is that I spoke to Professor Sarah Dunlop at the University of Western Australia and the Minderoo Foundation. She has just completed last week and published a world first umbrella review not into the health effects of microplastics themselves, but the chemicals associated with plastic, where the research is a lot more developed. So in science, researchers can do this thing called a systematic review, where they take all of these different studies that sort of might contradict each other. They weigh up the evidence and they find these very, very high confidence levels of evidence when they aggregate them all together. So this study was almost like a systematic review of a systematic review. And this umbrella study aggregated enough data that it took in the data points from 1.5 million people. So it's really high level evidence. And what they found is that chemicals such as BPA, PFAS, flame retardants that are added to plastic, lots of other chemicals involved in plastic production are associated with all kinds of health risks. The chemicals were linked to all manner of reproductive issues such as miscarriage, genital malformation in babies, damaged sperm, endometriosis and PCOS. They were also linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, lung, liver and breast cancer. So Dunlop told me that 19,000 different chemicals are used in the production of plastic. And for the vast majority of those, we don't know anything about their potential health effects. And none of the plastic chemicals that they examined in this big umbrella study could be considered safe. So while there's not a lot we can definitively say about the health risks of microplastics in our body. What we do know, with a great deal of certainty now, is that exposure to the chemicals associated with plastic is a massive public health concern.

Yeah, I thought that was a really interesting quote. I mean, he does frame that as speculation. There are some mysterious health trends in the world that we don't have an answer for or, you know, we don't know the reasons necessarily underpinning them yet, like declining fertility. And I think plastics and how they interact with already known risk factors for things like brain disease, like air pollution, will continue to be scrutinized. What I can tell you is that I spoke to Professor Sarah Dunlop at the University of Western Australia and the Minderoo Foundation. She has just completed last week and published a world first umbrella review not into the health effects of microplastics themselves, but the chemicals associated with plastic, where the research is a lot more developed. So in science, researchers can do this thing called a systematic review, where they take all of these different studies that sort of might contradict each other. They weigh up the evidence and they find these very, very high confidence levels of evidence when they aggregate them all together. So this study was almost like a systematic review of a systematic review. And this umbrella study aggregated enough data that it took in the data points from 1.5 million people. So it's really high level evidence. And what they found is that chemicals such as BPA, PFAS, flame retardants that are added to plastic, lots of other chemicals involved in plastic production are associated with all kinds of health risks. The chemicals were linked to all manner of reproductive issues such as miscarriage, genital malformation in babies, damaged sperm, endometriosis and PCOS. They were also linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, lung, liver and breast cancer. So Dunlop told me that 19,000 different chemicals are used in the production of plastic. And for the vast majority of those, we don't know anything about their potential health effects. And none of the plastic chemicals that they examined in this big umbrella study could be considered safe. So while there's not a lot we can definitively say about the health risks of microplastics in our body. What we do know, with a great deal of certainty now, is that exposure to the chemicals associated with plastic is a massive public health concern.

And you did, though, point to a small but influential Italian study that I believe was undertaken in March, which did find a link between plastic in the body and heart disease. So can you tell me a little bit about that?

And you did, though, point to a small but influential Italian study that I believe was undertaken in March, which did find a link between plastic in the body and heart disease. So can you tell me a little bit about that?

Yeah. So this is a really interesting study, because the scientists looked at 257 people who were having surgery for artery disease, where fatty plaque deposits restrict blood flow to the brain. And 60% of the people undergoing surgery for this had microplastics in their arteries. And when these Italian scientists followed up three years later, 7.5% of the people who didn't have microplastics in their arteries had died or suffered a stroke or heart attack. For the people who did have microplastics in their arteries, it was 20%. So more than double and once the scientists adjusted for other risk factors, they determined microplastics were increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack and death by four and a half times.

Yeah. So this is a really interesting study, because the scientists looked at 257 people who were having surgery for artery disease, where fatty plaque deposits restrict blood flow to the brain. And 60% of the people undergoing surgery for this had microplastics in their arteries. And when these Italian scientists followed up three years later, 7.5% of the people who didn't have microplastics in their arteries had died or suffered a stroke or heart attack. For the people who did have microplastics in their arteries, it was 20%. So more than double and once the scientists adjusted for other risk factors, they determined microplastics were increasing the risk of stroke, heart attack and death by four and a half times.

And scientists like Doctor Kempin are now saying that research into microplastics and their impact on human health is at an urgent level. I read in the Guardian that one professor in Turkey even went so far as to say that, you know, this needs to be declared a global emergency. So is this actually a widely held view? Yeah.

And scientists like Doctor Kempin are now saying that research into microplastics and their impact on human health is at an urgent level. I read in the Guardian that one professor in Turkey even went so far as to say that, you know, this needs to be declared a global emergency. So is this actually a widely held view? Yeah.

I mean, scientists are very concerned, even the ones that are sort of pumping the brakes on drawing any huge conclusions from these microplastic studies do admit that there's, you know, massive red flags when it comes to human health. I mean, arguably, there's already an environmental emergency, you know, with a one point 6,000,000 square kilometre Great Pacific garbage patch and, you know, microplastics wreaking havoc for shorebirds and turtles and all manner of marine life. I mean, at the current trajectory, plastic pollution will double by 2040 and the rate of plastics entering the world's oceans is set to triple in that time. And within 30 years, there'll be more plastic in the ocean than fish. So if that's not an emergency, I don't really know what is. But I mean, our environmental reporters wrote the other week that Australia has committed to recycling 70% of plastic packaging by next year, and we're not even halfway there. Negotiations for a global plastics treaty stalled earlier this year, largely due to the US and Russia dragging their feet on committing to curb plastic production. So this is something that's being treated a bit like an emergency, but a bit like the climate crisis. The problem is really bad, and we're not doing nearly enough about the root cause of the issue. Plastics seem to be another petrol derived or fossil fuel derived product that we just can't seem to quit because it completely underpins our society. And we're only just, I guess, from a scientific point of view, beginning to fully understand what the consequences of that dependence might be.

I mean, scientists are very concerned, even the ones that are sort of pumping the brakes on drawing any huge conclusions from these microplastic studies do admit that there's, you know, massive red flags when it comes to human health. I mean, arguably, there's already an environmental emergency, you know, with a one point 6,000,000 square kilometre Great Pacific garbage patch and, you know, microplastics wreaking havoc for shorebirds and turtles and all manner of marine life. I mean, at the current trajectory, plastic pollution will double by 2040 and the rate of plastics entering the world's oceans is set to triple in that time. And within 30 years, there'll be more plastic in the ocean than fish. So if that's not an emergency, I don't really know what is. But I mean, our environmental reporters wrote the other week that Australia has committed to recycling 70% of plastic packaging by next year, and we're not even halfway there. Negotiations for a global plastics treaty stalled earlier this year, largely due to the US and Russia dragging their feet on committing to curb plastic production. So this is something that's being treated a bit like an emergency, but a bit like the climate crisis. The problem is really bad, and we're not doing nearly enough about the root cause of the issue. Plastics seem to be another petrol derived or fossil fuel derived product that we just can't seem to quit because it completely underpins our society. And we're only just, I guess, from a scientific point of view, beginning to fully understand what the consequences of that dependence might be.

I mean, it's classic humans, isn't it? You know, I saw this quote from a professor at Yale University, And this was quoted in the Washington Post. And he said microplastics are going to continue to be found everywhere, as long as people keep using plastics that are designed to last. So it's like we've, we've we've done this to ourselves and I guess not sort of calculated what the potential problems might be.

I mean, it's classic humans, isn't it? You know, I saw this quote from a professor at Yale University, And this was quoted in the Washington Post. And he said microplastics are going to continue to be found everywhere, as long as people keep using plastics that are designed to last. So it's like we've, we've we've done this to ourselves and I guess not sort of calculated what the potential problems might be.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and if you think about it from a really sort of broad, deep time level, the archaeologists of the future are going to be finding whatever layer of strata that human leaves behind with all of these little multicolored plastics. And it's very much the one of the legacies of our civilization, which is kind of eerie to think about.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and if you think about it from a really sort of broad, deep time level, the archaeologists of the future are going to be finding whatever layer of strata that human leaves behind with all of these little multicolored plastics. And it's very much the one of the legacies of our civilization, which is kind of eerie to think about.

So to finish off, Angus, I really want to ask you if there's anything we actually can do day to day to prevent or minimize our intake of microplastics, given everything you've just told us. Yeah.

So to finish off, Angus, I really want to ask you if there's anything we actually can do day to day to prevent or minimize our intake of microplastics, given everything you've just told us. Yeah.

I mean, a lot of the things that you can do to reduce your exposure to microplastics, the things that we should be doing anyway, avoiding drinking out of a plastic water bottle when you can, avoiding eating out of plastic food containers and storing food in plastic food containers and not microwaving things in plastic is a big one too. There are other things that you can do, including like making sure you keep your house clean, for example, because one of the big sources actually is air pollution, because the fragments from car tires that sort of get churned up and then spun out into the air from roads. So the places that we sort of associate already with car pollution and fuel exhaust is also a massive, massive source of microplastics. So just yeah, so just making sure that your house is clean, reducing your exposure to air pollution will also help. And another thing you can do to potentially reduce your microplastic intake is, again, something that we should all be doing anyway because of our health. And that's eating less processed food, particularly processed meat. There was a recent study that found microplastics in nearly 90% of the tested samples of processed meat and processed protein sources, so just making sure that you're eating whole foods and staying healthy generally, is what experts are saying will ameliorate any of these particular health effects that could be growing from microplastics within our bodies.

I mean, a lot of the things that you can do to reduce your exposure to microplastics, the things that we should be doing anyway, avoiding drinking out of a plastic water bottle when you can, avoiding eating out of plastic food containers and storing food in plastic food containers and not microwaving things in plastic is a big one too. There are other things that you can do, including like making sure you keep your house clean, for example, because one of the big sources actually is air pollution, because the fragments from car tires that sort of get churned up and then spun out into the air from roads. So the places that we sort of associate already with car pollution and fuel exhaust is also a massive, massive source of microplastics. So just yeah, so just making sure that your house is clean, reducing your exposure to air pollution will also help. And another thing you can do to potentially reduce your microplastic intake is, again, something that we should all be doing anyway because of our health. And that's eating less processed food, particularly processed meat. There was a recent study that found microplastics in nearly 90% of the tested samples of processed meat and processed protein sources, so just making sure that you're eating whole foods and staying healthy generally, is what experts are saying will ameliorate any of these particular health effects that could be growing from microplastics within our bodies.

Well, Angus, this was the most fascinating piece that you've written. So I so appreciate you taking the time to speak to us anytime, Sam.

Well, Angus, this was the most fascinating piece that you've written. So I so appreciate you taking the time to speak to us anytime, Sam.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Julia Carcasole, with technical assistance by Kai Wong. Our head of audio is Tom McKendrick. The Morning Edition is a production of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. If you enjoy the show and want more of our journalism, subscribe to our newspapers today. It's the best way to support what we do. Search the age or Smh.com.au forward slash. Subscribe and sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter to receive a comprehensive summary of the day's most important news, analysis and insights in your inbox. Every day.

Today's episode of The Morning Edition was produced by Julia Carcasole, with technical assistance by Kai Wong. Our head of audio is Tom McKendrick. The Morning Edition is a production of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. If you enjoy the show and want more of our journalism, subscribe to our newspapers today. It's the best way to support what we do. Search the age or Smh.com.au forward slash. Subscribe and sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter to receive a comprehensive summary of the day's most important news, analysis and insights in your inbox. Every day.