What happens when plastic pollution doesn’t stay in the environment—but ends up in your brain? In this eye-opening episode of Ignition Sequence, environmental toxicologist Dr. Matthew Campen joins host Dylan Bohbot to discuss his groundbreaking research on microplastics found in human organs, including the brain. Drawing from his recent Nature Medicine study, Dr. Campen explains how these invisible pollutants accumulate, what that means for human health, and why we still know so little about their long-term impact.
The conversation spans from particle detection techniques and systemic exposure pathways to larger questions about how we manage plastic waste, the health effects of wildfire smoke, and what we can do to reduce risk. It’s a sobering, science-packed dialogue with plenty of hope and pragmatic solutions woven throughout.
In this episode, you’ll learn:1. How microplastics make their way into the brain—and why it’s worse than we thought2. The most common types of plastic found in human organs3. What makes plastics different from typical chemical pollutants4. How smoke exposure from wildfires may impact long-term brain health5. What individuals and governments can do to mitigate exposure and rethink plastic use
Timestamps00:00:30 – Introduction to Dr. Campen and his environmental toxicology background00:03:16 – Microplastics found in human brains: key findings from Nature Medicine00:09:00 – The science of detection: pyrolysis-GC-MS and other techniques00:13:04 – Where microplastics come from and how they end up in us00:17:14 – Why plastics should return to the carbon cycle—and how long that takes00:21:46 – What worries scientists most: nano and molecular plastics00:24:24 – Solutions? The case for incineration and waste-to-energy systems00:30:14 – Reducing personal exposure: diet, habits, and better choices00:35:44 – Brain plastic levels and links to dementia00:38:16 – Wildfire smoke and long-term neurological effects00:50:50 – What keeps Dr. Campen up at night—and what gives him hope
🔗 Helpful Links🔹 Dr. Campen’s Nature Medicine study "Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains": https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03453-1🔹 UN Plastics Treaty Overview: https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution🔹 Learn more about microplastics and human health: https://www.wecf.org/the-plastic-health-coalition/🔹 Matthew Campen Laboratory at University of New Mexico Health Sciences: https://hsc.unm.edu/pharmacy/research/labs/campen/
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