Environmental micro(nano) plastics – what’s going on?

Many of us are looking around ourselves uneasily at the idea of the amount of nano and microplastics in our environment, so if you are asking yourself what the impact might be, listen on.

Talking to us today about the environmental impact of these particles and how they are interacting with our bodies at a cellular level, are our three guests, all of whom have been supported by the EU’s research and innovation funding:

Luca Nizzetto is chief scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, in Oslo. He has coordinatedpioneering international research on plastic pollution in agricultural ecosystems, revealing the widespread occurrence of microplastics and their impact on soil fertility and crops.

Alba Hernández Bonilla is a professor of Genetics and the leader of the Mutagenesis Group at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is particularly interestedin how emerging contaminants may contribute to long-term human health effects.

Mark Morrison is a senior consultant with Optimat, in Glasgow. Morrison is interested in how the bacteria and other contaminants get into our bodies by riding on the outside of plastic micro(nano) particles, and what they get up to once they are there!