Great Lakes Microplastics Research Could Inform National and Global Policy

As experts gathered in Geneva this month to negotiate an enforceable global plastic pollution treaty, scientists studying the Great Lakes continued their research that could pinpoint how microplastics impact human health and ultimately inform decisions made across the world.

The effects of microplastics in wildlife have been documented for over a decade. These effects include declines in fertility in aquatic wildlife; negative behavioral changes; decline in reproduction and metabolic disorders.

However, because microplastics come from so many different sources—such as the air, drinking water and foods—that data can’t be used to determine exact impacts on humans. Other scientists have found microplastics in human brains , placentas and other organs.

Microplastics and other contaminants t