While much is unknown about how microplastics affect human health, scientists have detected the tiny plastic fragments in blood and warn about possible toxic effects on fetuses. Lawmakers and advocates have been pushing the Biden administration for years to increase research into health effects and decrease reliance on unnecessary plastics.
“Each piece of microplastic is a little toxic bomb, filled with PFAS and other chemicals,” Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formerly with EPA now at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said in a tweet about the study. Bennett was one of the researchers who first detected PFAS in turf in 2019, and she was not involved in the study.