Plastic Problems—Bethanie Carney Almroth—University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 September 2020
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Associate professor and researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Bethanie Almroth, joins the show to discuss her research and expertise in ecotoxicology and microplastics pollution.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Roughly how many chemicals are in plastic packaging materials, and under what conditions they could leach out and cause ecotoxicological or adverse human health effects
- What kinds of plastic materials are being found on beaches and other spaces in the environment in very significant amounts, and what it is about these materials that makes them likely to end up in the environment
- What are nurdles aka "mermaid tears" and what role do they play in ecotoxicology and environmental health and safety
For the past nine years or so, Almroth's work has revolved around microplastics and the effects of plastic pollution on animal and environmental health. She describes her research as having two main tracks:
#1 What happens when fish are exposed to microplastics? How do the chemicals in these materials affect their health?
#2 Where and how are microplastics released into the environment and how do they travel through food chains? How do we approach the problem of plastic in the environment from a broad, social perspective?
"Plastic is not one thing; plastic is many things," says Almroth. The market is dominated by a number of different types of polymers, which are the same polymers found in the environment. According to a report published early this year from China, 350,000 chemicals are registered for sale on the global market. In her own work, Almroth has helped show that there are approximately 1,000 toxic chemicals contained in plastic packaging materials that most of us interact with on a daily basis.
Almroth shares what she believes are the most compelling unanswered questions in the field of microplastics pollution and research. Tune in for all the details, and learn more by visiting https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/hitta-person/bethaniecarney-almroth.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Forget frequently asked questions common sense common knowledge or Google how about advice from a real genius |
| 0:06.8 | 95% of people in any profession are good enough to be qualified and licensed 5% go and beyond. They become very good at what they do. |
| 0:15.1 | But only 0.1% are real Jesus. |
| 0:18.3 | Richard Jacobs has made it his life's mission to find them for you. |
| 0:22.4 | He hunts down and interviews geniuses in every field, sleep science, cancer, stem cells, |
| 0:27.2 | ketogenic diets, and more. |
| 0:28.8 | Here come the geniuses. |
| 0:30.4 | This is the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:33.0 | That is Richard Jacobs. |
| 0:35.0 | Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 0:41.0 | I have Bethany Carney Ambrrough. She's an associate professor and a researcher at the |
| 0:46.3 | University of Gothenburg in Sweden. We're going to talk about eco toxicology and |
| 0:51.1 | zoo physiology. We're going to talk about microplastics and her role in understanding how they affect different organisms and environments etc. |
| 1:01.0 | So that's any thanks for coming. |
| 1:02.0 | Yeah, thanks for having me. |
| 1:04.0 | Yeah, you know, now when I look at, you know, someone drinking out of a water bottle or I am, I'm thinking |
| 1:10.6 | about the plastics and where they're going and what's happening to them. |
| 1:13.4 | But how did you first become aware of microplastics and what got you interested? |
| 1:18.9 | So my background is in fish physiology, so how fish or their bodies work. My undergraduate |
| 1:26.4 | degree was in marine biology and I sort of focused more into fish in my |
| 1:29.9 | masters where I studied a disease called M74 in salmon and there are connections between that disease and exposure to pollutants. |
| 1:38.0 | So I started studying pollution and how it can affect fish mostly and even during my undergrad work I did some I had some research |
... |
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