22 Jun 2025

Tiny Plastics, Big Questions

From Sunday Morning, 9:39 am on 22 June 2025

Micro and nano-plastics are turning up in every corner of the planet — and in our own bodies. Professor Kevin Thomas, Director of the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, joins Jim to explore what we know — and don’t yet know — about the health risks of plastic pollution.  

He explains why building a solid scientific understanding of microplastic exposure is more urgent than ever. 

A photo taken on December 8, 2022, in Vaasa, shows plastic pieces in frozen water. Negotiations on a global treaty to combat plastic pollution will resume Monday, with nations under pressure to stem the tide of trash amid calls from campaigners to limit industry influence on the talks.

Some 175 nations pledged last year to agree by 2024 a binding deal to end the pollution from largely fossil fuel-based plastics that is choking the environment and infiltrating the bodies of humans and animals.

The May 29-June 2 talks in Paris are tasked with agreeing the first outline for actions that could form the basis of a draft negotiating text. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)

Photo: OLIVIER MORIN