Dr. Cassandra Rauert

So what our research has been showing is that, for instance, polyethylene will give you the same signal as, say, lipid or fat that's in the sample.

So that's really where our research has been going to try and improve analysis techniques and

But I do want to reiterate the fact this is a very new area of research in terms of understanding what's inside our bodies.

So we're still learning.

We're still trying to improve the techniques and get the data better.

So we have started a group called the Plastics Measurements Brains Trust, and we have about 30 global researchers involved.

all different expertise, all different fields, but all working on the theme of plastics and human health.

And we come together once a year and have big meeting and discuss how we can improve the field, how we can improve the data that's coming out.

So we published a paper in January this year that really talked about how we can use different techniques together on the same sample to try and improve the confidence in the data and

And this is really what we're advocating for in future studies that are trying to look at plastics inside humans.

So there are things happening in the field.

We're not there yet.

It's not perfect.

But I do think give us another five or so years and we will start to see improvements and more collaborations and people working together to improve the data that's coming out as well and hopefully have a better handle on if there's any influence between plastics and human health.

Yeah, this is the first time I've worked on a chemical of concern or an emerging chemical of concern right from the beginning.

So it's been a learning curve for me as well.

I, in my everyday life, do put in measures to reduce the amount of plastics that I have in my home.

So when I first started working in this field, actually, I changed all of my kitchen utensils.

I just had cheap plastic kitchen utensils and plastic chopping boards.

I just changed all of those out.