PLASTICS AND HEALTH
In recent years, scientists have discovered plastic in most parts of the human body. Learn more in the scientific papers, fact sheets, reports, and videos below.
Do microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) directly contribute to human carcinogenesis? | Environmental Pollution | November 2025
Screening and prioritization of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastic toys for children based on non-target analysis and machine learning predictive model | Environment International | October 2025
Unveiling Chemical-Microbial Cascade Risk Factors from Plastic Pipe Leaching in Drinking Water | Environmental Science & Technology | October 2025
A Quantitative Environmental Risk Assessment for Microplastics in Sewage Sludge Applied to Land | Environmental Science & Technology | October 2025
Occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and phthalate acid esters (PAEs) in recycled PET: Implications for food packaging materials | Journal of Chromatography A | October 2025
Urinary and circulatory levels of plasticizer metabolites and their associations with renal function: a cross-sectional analysis of the NHANES cohort | Annals of Medicine | October 2025
Biodegradable microplastics show greater potential than conventional types in facilitating antibiotic resistance gene enrichment and transfer through viral communities | Environment International | October 2025
GenX-loaded polystyrene microplastics exacerbate intestinal injury in mice via barrier impairment and microbial dysregulation | Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering | October 2025
Tracing source of microplastics contamination in CTC tea: Effect of processing stages and human health risk assessment | Journal of Hazardous Materials | October 2025
Plastic tableware use, microplastic accumulation, and sperm quality: from epidemiological evidence to FOXA1/p38 mechanistic insights | Journal of Nanobiotechnology | October 2025
The effects of plastic exposures on children's health and urgent opportunities for prevention | The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health | September 2025
Microplastic abundance in placental chorionic villi detected by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in cases of spontaneous miscarriage during early pregnancy | eBioMedicine (The Lancet) | October 2025
Health impacts of microplastic and nanoplastic exposure | Nature Medicine | September 2025
Unveiling the hidden chronic health risks of nano- and microplastics in single-use plastic water bottles: A review | Journal of Hazardous Materials | September 2025
UV-aged biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics further enhance horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance plasmids both in vitro and in intestinal flora | Environmental Pollution | September 2025
Integrated chemical exposome–metabolome profiling of follicular fluid and associations with fertility outcomes during assisted reproduction | Environment International | September 2025
Short-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics alters cognition, immune, and metabolic markers in an apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype and sex-dependent manner | Environmental Research Communications | August 2025
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics | The Lancet | August 2025 (download PDF)
Small Particles, Big Problems: Polystyrene nanoparticles induce DNA damage, oxidative stress, migration, and mitogenic pathways predominantly in non-malignant lung cells | Journal of Hazardous Materials | July 2025
Human exposure to PM10 microplastics in indoor air | PLOS One | July 2025
Effects of microplastics on the bones: a comprehensive review | Osteoporosis International | June 2025
Long-Term Exposure to Environmentally Realistic Doses of Starch-Based Microplastics Suggests Widespread Health Effects | Food Safety & Toxicology | April 2025
Phthalate exposure from plastics and cardiovascular disease: global estimates of attributable mortality and years life lost | eBioMedicine, The Lancet | April 2025
Chewing gum can shed microplastics into saliva, pilot study finds | American Chemical Society | March 2025
Effects of microplastic concentration, composition, and size on Escherichia coli biofilm-associated antimicrobial resistance | Applied and Environmental Microbiology | March 2025
Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains | Nature Medicine | February 2025
Microplastics in the bloodstream can induce cerebral thrombosis by causing cell obstruction and lead to neurobehavioral abnormalities | Science Advances | January 2025
From the ocean to our kitchen table: anthropogenic particles in the edible tissue of U.S. West Coast seafood species | Frontiers | December 2024
Effects of leachate from disposable plastic takeout containers on the cardiovascular system after thermal contact | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety | December 2024
Effects of Microplastic Exposure on Human Digestive, Reproductive, and Respiratory Health: A Rapid Systematic Review | Environmental Science & Technology | December 2024
The benefits of removing toxic chemicals from plastics | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) | December 2024
Combined toxicity of perfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics on the sentinel species Daphnia magna: Implications for freshwater ecosystems | Environmental Pollution | December 2024
First identification of microplastics in human uterine fibroids and myometrium | Environmental Pollution | November 2024
Twenty years of microplastic pollution research—what have we learned? | Science | September 2024
Male autism spectrum disorder is linked to brain aromatase disruption by prenatal BPA in multimodal investigations and 10HDA ameliorates the related mouse phenotype | Nature Communications | August 2024
Microplastic presence in dog and human testis and its potential association with sperm count and weights of testis and epididymis | Toxicological Sciences | August 2024
Plastic Induced Urinary Tract Disease and Dysfunction: A Scoping Review | Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology | August 2024
Detection of Microplastics in Human Breast Milk and Its Association with Changes in Human Milk Bacterial Microbiota | Journal of Clinical Medicine | July 2024
Microplastics and Oxidative Stress—Current Problems and Prospects | MDPA Antioxidants | May 2024
Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains Assessed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry | Preprint | May 2024
Microplastic Human Dietary Uptake from 1990 to 2018 Grew across 109 Major Developing and Industrialized Countries but Can Be Halved by Plastic Debris Removal | Environmental Science & Technology | April 2024
Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events | The New England Journal of Medicine | March 2024
Tissue accumulation of microplastics and potential health risks in human | The Science of the Total Environment | March 2024
Obesogenic polystyrene microplastic exposures disrupt the gut-liver-adipose axis | Toxicological Sciences | March 2024
State of the Science On Plastic Chemicals | Plastchem Project | March 2024
Maternal nanoplastic ingestion induces an increase in offspring body weight through altered lipid species and microbiota | Environment International | March 2024
MicroRaman spectroscopy detects the presence of microplastics in human urine and kidney tissue | Environment International | January 2024
Effect of microplastics deposition on human lung airways: A review with computational benefits and challenges | Heliyon | January 2024
Assessing the contribution of plastic-associated obesogenic compounds to cardiometabolic diseases | Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity | December 2023
Anionic nanoplastic contaminants promote Parkinson’s disease–associated α-synuclein aggregation | Science Advances | November 2023
Acute Exposure to Microplastics Induced Changes in Behavior and Inflammation in Young and Old Mice | International Journal of Molecular Sciences | July 2023
Detection of Various Microplastics in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery | Ecotoxicology and Public Health | July 2023
Effects of microplastic and engineered nanomaterials on inflammatory bowel disease: A review | Chemosphere | June 2023
Micro- and Nanoplastics Breach the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB): Biomolecular Corona's Role Revealed | Nanomaterials | April 2023
Microplastics exposure promotes the proliferation of skin cancer cells but inhibits the growth of normal skin cells by regulating the inflammatory process | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety | November 2023
The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on plastics and human health | Annals of Global Health | October 2023
The endocrine disrupting effects of nanoplastic exposure: A systematic review | Sage Journals | September 2023
Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health | Environmental Science & Technology | June 2023
Microplastics detected in cirrhotic liver tissue | EbioMedicine | July 2022
Raman Microspectroscopy Detection and Characterisation of Microplastics in Human Breastmilk | MDPI Polymers | June 2022
Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood | Environment International | May 2022
Non-target screening for the identification of migrating compounds from reusable plastic bottles into drinking water | Journal of Hazardous Materials | May 2022
A rapid review and meta-regression analyses of the toxicological impacts of microplastic exposure in human cells | Journal of Hazardous Materials | April 2022
Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta | Environment International | January 2021
Vinyl Chloride: The Poison That Makes The Plastic | Considerations for EPA’s Evaluation of Vinyl Chloride Under the Toxic Substances Control Act | Beyond Plastics | 2024
The Perils of PVC Plastic Pipes | Beyond Plastics | 2023
Plastic’s toxic additives and the circular economy | IPEN | September 2020
3M’s Decades-Long Attempt to Cover-Up the “Forever Chemicals” in All Our Blood with Chris Hansen, Ph.D., and Sharon Lerner
Plastics and Your Health with Dr. Phil Landrigan
The True Costs of Artificial Turf: Experts Discuss Cornell University’s New “PFAS-Free” Project
Vinyl Chloride and the EPA: The Urgent Case for Action with David Rosner Ph.D., MPH, Jess Conard, and Megan Wolff, Ph.D., MPH
Endocrine Disruptors in Plastics: State Policy Options with Senator Pete Harckham, Pete Myers Ph.D., and Megan Wolff, Ph.D., MPH
The Plastic Invasion oF Reproductive Health with Shanna Swan Ph.D., Dr. Antonio Ragusa, and Stacey Colino