Reducing Patients’ (and Your) Exposure to Microplastics
By Anita Peñuelas, MD, MPH
As a soon-to-be grandmother, a longtime family physician, and member of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, I worry about the health effects of microplastics on pregnant women and young children.
Microplastic particles have been found in almost every human tissue, including placentas, brain, and breast milk. Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of the chemicals that emanate from plastic particles and products.
Because of my concerns for my grandchild and the next generation, I’m committed to decreasing exposure to microplastics.
One thing we can all do as clinicians is to start talking to our patients about how to reduce their exposure, as well as to take steps to reduce our own. There is an increasing number of alarming studies about the potential health impacts of our constant exposure not just to these plastics, but also to the chemicals that leach out and are found in the food we eat, the air we breathe, and the water we drink.
Microplastics are small plastic pieces ranging in size from a pencil eraser down to microscopic fragments called nanoplastics, small enough to pass into our bloodstream.
There are more than 1,600 different chemical additives that can be used to make plastics, many of which are known to be harmful to human health, such as bisphenol A (BPA and others), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), plus many more that have not been tested for human safety. These chemicals can easily leach into human tissue, our water supply, soil, and food.
Microplastic particles have been found in almost every human tissue including placentas, brain, and breast milk.
It’s important that doctors and health professionals providing preconception, prenatal, and pediatric care warn families about the health effects on fertility, fetal development, and growing bodies.
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility Climate and Health Task Force members have created a one-page, patient-friendly handout which outlines some of the health effects of microplastics and steps that you and your patients can take to reduce exposure. The handout can hang on a refrigerator and spur family conversations and awareness. Download the handout from our website, wpsr.org/microplastics.
By providing easily implemented ideas to reduce exposure, this handout can start an ongoing conversation with your patients. We know change occurs incrementally and starts with information from a trusted clinician.
In addition, for WSMA Reports readers in the King County area, please join WPSR in collaboration with Toxic-Free Future on July 14 for a special screening of the Netflix film “The Plastic Detox” at SIFF Film Center in Seattle from 6-8:30 p.m.
The screening will be followed by an informative panel featuring Lora Shahine, MD, OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific Northwest Fertility in Seattle and clinical associate professor at the University of Washington; Sheela Sathyanarayana MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics, environmental and occupational health sciences, and epidemiology at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Institute; and Ryan Babadi, science director at Toxic-Free Future. You will have an opportunity to ask questions and learn from these national experts! Register for this free event here.
Anita Peñuelas, MD, MPH, is a member of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Climate and Health Task Force.
This article was featured in the July/August 2026 issue of WSMA Reports, WSMA’s print magazine.