In Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania has a microplastics lab that’s working on creating new detection methods and ways to clean up the potential toxins.
An estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic pollute oceans every year, eventually breaking down into tiny fragments. But it’s not just in the ocean, scientists have discovered that microplastics are now ubiquitous.
“Microplastics have been associated with a range of health effects,” said Samantha McBride, a professor researching them at the University of Pennsylvania. “Everywhere we’ve looked, bloodstreams, semen, any type of bodily tissue, microplastics have been found.”