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Research finds lab gloves can contaminate testing for microplastics, inflating numbers

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published April 16, 2026 at 12:02 PM EDT

Microplastics are everywhere, but scientists could be overstating the numbers. When sampling the air for microplastics, researchers at the University of Michigan found that even standard lab gloves can contaminate the data.

Here & Now‘s Lisa Mullins speaks with chemistry professor Anne McNeil about their findings.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.