Baby Formula, Paint, Breast Implants: Report Highlights ‘Overlooked’, ‘Emerging’ Sources of Microplastic Exposure

A new major report reveals the staggering extent of daily microplastic exposure, describing an inescapable “microplastic storm” stemming from a variety of overlooked and newly identified sources.

Microplastics – tiny plastic particles measuring less than 5 millimeters in diameter, close in size to a sesame seed, that result from the degradation of larger plastics – have been found everywhere, from bottled drinking water to mammal feces, near the summit of Mount Everest, in human blood and organs, and even the air we breathe. But the new report, released Wednesday, argues that much of it comes from less obvious or emerging sources that have so far received less attention.

Researchers mapped microplastic release across five categories: outdoor sources, indoor environments, children’s products, healthcare and personal care, and food and drink. They described microplastics as “pervasive, abundant, invisible, chemical-mixture-carrying pollutants … lurking in every corner of our lives, starting before birth.”