Microplastics, Public Health Myth or Menace - Ian Mudway

Microplastics - tiny plastic particles less than 5mm long - were first identified in the ocean but are now known to be ubiquitous throughout the environment, within soil, air food and water. Recently, microplastics have been detected in human blood, placenta, and other tissues (liver, lung, colon) raising concerns about potential adverse health effects.

This lecture reviews the science on microplastics and whether we should be concerned about them, compared with other known environmental hazards.

This lecture was recorded by Dr Ian Mudway on 25 September 2023 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

Ian is Visiting Professor of Environmental Health.

He is a senior lecturer in the School of Public Health at Imperial, a member of the MRC Centre for Environment and Health; MRC & Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma and the NIHR-PHE Health Protection Research Units in Environmental Exposures and Health and Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:

[emarsk]

What an excellent lecture. It also contains a depressing truth: "they have capacity and nothing to do with it. So they have to innovate […] into the only market which is going to be able to replace that. And that's consumer products." This is the reason why we are cruising at full speed into a disaster: we are – as a society, and many of us as individuals as well – inescapably driven by greed. Not well-being. Not quality of life. And most certainly not long-term altruism.

[waynek]

Oh - just a note - Gresham lectures are now monetized. Wasn't so bad a week ago - but this presentation was interrupted by 5 long commercials within the first 18 minutes here in the USA. Worse was one commercial would lead to another unless I intervened.
I hope that this isn't a trend or permanent because these lectures are quite valuable to me and have been a part of my daily routine for the past 4 + years

[mollyjones]

My brother was an engineer involved in the design and testing of the plastic parts of cars. He and five other men at the same factory had esophageal cencer before age 60.

[thatguyswavomeer]

Plastic recycling is counter-effective, it produces even more harmful waste than it was supposed to prevent. It is also a very convenient excuse for producers to shift responsibility for handling the plastic packaging on consumers - so that it is their business decision to use it (and their profit) but it is us, the buyers who have to take care of the outcome, at our own cost.

[debbielondon]

An extraordinary lecture. A privilege to be able to access this. Thank you to every one involved.

[samuelelsby]

A lecture is ALWAYS so much better when it’s not read from a script.

[MeowMeowisme]

This is a fantastic lecture. Just straight to the points. I work in the polymer industry for over 20 years and I have always told people that yes we have a huge problem and it's not microplastics, it's the waste and additives that we should be concerned with. Microplastics is just a flashy topic that people talk about to make themselves feel better but much bigger problem lurks beneath. Polymeric substance are usually stable and are much less likely to cause harm to us but the additives and fillers are known to do damages to us which we know for sure. We need to ban certain plasticisers and filler not to ban plastics as whole. They are different. While REACH regulations are maybe too aggressive, they are moving the in right direction.

[GrahamCLester]

This is exactly the sort of information that we all need if we are going to tackle pollution and waste effectively.

[logo]

Seems like the search for microplastics in tissue is well motivated.

While there is hype and hysteria about the search that raises suspicions, other institutions will keep those suspicions in check by quickly trying to reproduce and double check any findings.

Perhaps there are more interesting and concerning questions to be discussed in the area of environmental health, but that is a question of awareness campaigns and political contributions.

[erizmo]

I know that there is less information on nano plastics, but the main concern on human health comes from nano plastics because of their ability to breach any barrier so I wonder how big of an issue this is🤔

[angelafloodgate]

8:17 I’m no biologist but I was told that the digestive system belongs to the outward milieu. Plastics have to be very small (chemical level) to be taken up into the bloodstream.

[prestonrutherford]

Plastic bad big and small. The last 15 minutes of this felt like consumer blaming. ALL THE MONEY IS IN THE POCKETS OF THE PRODUCERS. They need incentives to make the changes consumers want or need.

[RamKumar-sqdk]

Adding time stamps would be greatly helpful

[simonpenny]

Thankyou! This lecture is exemplary of balanced argument informed by solid science. Sadly less common than it should be.

[guitarsandsuchetc]

The water in the plastic water bottle taste horrible. No wonder all ages would drink sugary drinks.

[EdoRiver]

I applaud your presentation of the reality of our situation now. The public includes the urban poor. And the waste location of waste products

[angelafloodgate]

1:01:37 it’s to late already I’m afraid

[julianholman]

I think the starting point is the banning of the export of waste to relieve pressure on landfill sites

[espensund]

We have to go back in our living standard, it's the only solution imo. We can't develop our way out of this because development is creating more waste.

[EdoRiver]

I would say that in ten years there will NOT be a reduction in any of the data 😢😢.ALL the trends are estimated no but in ten years the effects will be measurable. And in ten years all the gaps of data will be filled in. In the future the number of urban poor will increase in exposure and and in concentration this is coming reliably by any projection 😮😮😮😮😮