Microplastics and the Brain

Korin Miller warns that middle-aged human brains may have absorbed enough microplastic to cause functional problems. Diets with highly processed foods, such as chicken nuggets and hot dogs, are thought to transfer the most microplastic to individuals.

-DD

Plastic Rain and Windborn Dust

Matt Simon reports on plastic particles being found in the atmosphere and oceans.

-DD

Single-Use Plastic Bag Distribution

Bill Chappell reports on California's attempts to rein-in the distribution of single use plastic bags . A 2014 legislative effort to ban flimsy single-use bags resulted in the waste plastic tonnage increasing, as stores thereafter distributed heavier bags. New legislative efforts will promote the distribution of multiple-use bags or paper sacks at the point of sale.

-DD

Increasing Cancer Rates

Dylan Scott reports in rising gastrointestinal cancer rates among those under fifty years of age. Microplastics are a suspect.

-DD

Microplastic Pollution

Douglas Main reports on the spread of microplastics , citing research undertaken at the University of Newcastle (Australia), which showed that humans swallow grams of invisible microplastic each year.

-DD