You’re probably heard the term “microplastics.” And you’ve probably also heard that they’re bad for you. 

A write up from Stanford Medicine says, quote, “they’re in the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the air we breathe.”

But what exactly are they? 

A local doctor is helping us understand what exactly these particals are, and how or if we should avoid them.

GUEST:
Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington and the Seattle Children's Research Institute

RELATED LINKS:
Microplastics and our health: What the science says - Stanford Medicine

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

You&rsquo;re probably heard the term &ldquo;microplastics.&rdquo; And you&rsquo;ve probably also heard that they&rsquo;re bad for you.&nbsp;
A <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/01/microplastics-in-body-polluted-tiny-plastic-fragments.html">write up</a> from Stanford Medicine says, quote, &ldquo;they&rsquo;re in the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear and the air we breathe.&rdquo;
But what exactly are they?&nbsp;
A local doctor is helping us understand what exactly these particals are, and how or if we should avoid them.
GUEST:
<ul>
<li>Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana,&nbsp;a professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington and the Seattle Children's Research Institute</li>
</ul>
RELATED LINKS:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/01/microplastics-in-body-polluted-tiny-plastic-fragments.html">Microplastics and our health: What the science says - Stanford Medicine</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

You’re probably heard the term “microplastics.” And you’ve probably also heard that they’re bad for you. But what exactly are they?

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