Org Media’s report on microplastics begins with a report on drinking water from cities around the globe, and then shares results from a 10-month investigation into the problem.

The article, “The  Invisibles: The Plastic Inside Us” is  a 6-chapter, interactive, multimedia piece. It presents a broad summary of the sources of microplastics, including road dust from tires, fibers from clothing, paints, microbeads and break-up from macroplastics.  It charts the known health dangers from various plastic sources, including the hormone disruptors in many plasticizers, and the antimony leached from PET bottles when exposed to heat, such as when left in a car..

Readers of this article will come away with an understanding of the huge extent and complex nature of microplastics, its interconnected and global nature, and a sense of what we don’t know.  An annotated list following the article provides a source of research for further study.

Orb Media is a partner in The Trust Project, an international consortium of news organizations promoting standards of transparency in journalism that works with technology platforms to improve the quality of information presented to the public.

Link: “The Invisibles: The Plastic Inside Us”

Esrag Plastics Task Force