Hea Jeong Kim: Breathe In, Breath Out, Breathe..... PLASTICS???

<p dir="ltr">As society develops, there has been a marked increase in the presence of plastic in everyday products, such as water bottles, food containers/wrappers, and even clothing. Alongside the steep rise in the usage of plastic in daily life, concerns about exposure to microplastics are also increasing. Microplastics are small degraded plastic pieces (1-5000 µm), which are harmful to human health and the environment. While more research is needed in the future, recent studies have discovered that microplastics can be correlated to serious health issues.</p><p dir="ltr">This is the first research to analyse exhaled breath samples from humans to measure exposure to airborne microplastics in the NZ population. Knowledge from this research will increase our understanding of the potential risk to the population and assist organisations in developing effective management plans to reduce plastic exposure to NZers and their impact on our health and wellbeing.</p>