Media contacts for Canada and the United States are provided in the press materials.

Two lab methods were used: Py-GC-MS at the University of New Mexico to quantify polymer concentrations and flow cytometry at the University of Hawai‘i to count particles and assess sizes, offering complementary data on polymers and particle counts.

Participants and partners include the Small Change Fund, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Plastic People, and CAPE, with analyses at UNM and UH Manoa and the report publicly available as a PDF.

Blood samples contained between roughly 1,900 and 197,000 micro‑ and nano‑plastic particles per microliter, with over 90% of particles under 500 nanometers in diameter.

A new report from Plastic Pollution Coalition, Plastic People, and CAPE finds microplastics in the blood of 27 of 28 participants across Canada and the United States, with eight different polymer types detected.

Participants span music, art, entertainment, media, politics, and public policy, and samples were collected over an eight‑month window from 2025 into 2026.

Eight common polymers were identified in the samples, including ABS, Nylon 6 (N6), Nylon 6,6 (N66), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and styrene‑butadiene rubber (SBR).

The report calls for reducing plastic production and adopting non‑toxic plastic alternatives, alongside stronger regulatory attention to plastic contamination and health impacts.

Researchers caution that the findings reflect the study authors and participating organizations, not necessarily all survey participants, and urge action to reduce pollution while advancing more research and policy reforms.

Microplastics in blood are framed as an indicator of broader environmental contamination, prompting calls for regulatory reforms to curb plastic production and pollution.

The project is titled “Microplastics in Me: Finding Plastics in Human Blood,” conducted through a collaboration of advocacy groups with analyses at UNM and UH Manoa; a downloadable report accompanied the press release.