What to Know About Plastics and Our Health
April 28, 2022 | WHYY Radio Times
Look around your home……plastic is everywhere. It’s in our furniture, clothing, cosmetics, cleaners, medicine and all kinds of household items. It’s on our food, lining cans, packaging our fruits, vegetables, chips, cereal, meat and more.
We now know that tiny plastic particles can be found in our water, soil and air. We breathe in nano and micro particles, ingesting about 5 grams — or about credit card’s worth — of particles each week.
These particles have been found in human lungs, blood and stool, but what risk does exposure to plastic and the chemicals in it pose to human health? And how can we reduce our use and dependence on plastic for ourselves and the environment?
Guests
Phoebe Stapleton, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University where she studies the effect of nanoplastics on maternal-fetal health.
Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and visiting professor at Bennington University. She’s a former EPA Regional Administrator.
