Brian Lairn on WNYC, and now we turn to microplastics.

Have you seen this headline?

A new study published last month in the journal Nature Medicine found that the human

brain may contain up to a spoon's worth of tiny plastic shards, not a tablespoon or a teaspoon,

but a teaspoon, but the same weight as a disposable spoon was their measure. It's about seven

grams. The rate of accumulation in the brain mirrors the rate of prevalence of plastics in the

environment.

The amount found in the brain contains roughly 50% more plastic than just eight years ago.

Joining us now to explain that study, what that means for health, and how to minimize your

exposure to microplastics, is

Carolyn Korman, writer with a New Yorker and New York Magazine, her new piece published in New York,

is titled, There's a Spoon's Worth of Plastic in Our Brains. Now What?

Carolyn, thanks for coming on with us. Welcome to WNYC.

Thanks so much for having me, Brian.

I'm a long-time listener, so it's an honor to be speaking with you.

Great to hear that.

Thank you.

Listeners might be familiar with the concept of microplastics.

We've covered them on the show before, but what is the actual definition?

How micro are microplastics?

Sure. A microplastics? Sure.

A microplastic is any fragment film shard that is less than smaller than the grain of rice,

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