Swimming in plastics

Tiny particles of man-made polymers can now be found in oceans, fish — and our bodies.

Plastic.
(Image credit: China Photos/Getty Images)

This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.

Sorry to be so personal, but you are probably pooping plastic. Human beings have covered the planet with plastics because these malleable, man-made polymers are so useful and versatile. Unfortunately, researchers are finding particles of discarded, degraded plastic everywhere from Antarctica to the North Pole, even in the ocean depths. (See Health & Science.) Nearly all forms of marine life carry microplastics in their bodies — and so do you and I. An Austrian study last year of people on four continents found microparticles of various plastics in the stools of every person tested. A federal study found the plastic known as BPA in the urine of 93 percent of people over the age of 6. It's been found in breast milk, too. A new Australian study has found people ingest an average of 2,000 microplastic particles a week through food, water, and air — roughly the same amount of plastic in a credit card.

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William Falk

William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.