Where do we stand, and what shall we do? In this follow-up to my interview with Martin Wagner in the previous episode, I discuss some recent reviews on microplastic pollution and environmental risks. I also provide some personal assessment on possible steps forward. First and foremost, at least that’s how I’d argue, need to systematically…
This is the first of a two-part episode on environmental pollution with microplastics. In this episode, I have a chat with Martin Wagner, an Associate Professor from the University of Trondheim in Norway who was visiting our University a couple of weeks back. We talk about whether there is an environmental impact from the widespread…
In this episode I critique a recent video on glyphosate that was produced for the Austrian television. I find the clip heavily biased and explain why. Afterwards I talk a bit about some details in a new report that summarizes the toxicological profile of glyphosate.
I talk a bit about pesticides, what they are and how they are regulated and risk assessed in Europe. Hopefully not too dry and boring, but it’s essential background for discussing potential pesticide impacts on human health or the environment. And it’s just 7 minutes, so bear with me… In the second half of the…
This is the introductory episode of „Our Chemicalized World”, a podcast about chemicals and their impacts on human health and the environment. So, this is about chemical hazards, exposures, about risks and safety. About using chemicals and about avoiding them. About testing chemicals for their toxic effects, about measuring and estimating their occurrence in the…
I recently came across an article published by Dan Gardner, an environmental consultant for Tactix in Ottawa, with the provocative title „There are harmful chemicals all around us. And this is fine„. Gardner’s basic line of reasoning is that „the dose makes the poison„, doses equal a „grain of sand in a football field“ and,…
A study on glyphosate residues in Californian wines caught my eye because Kevin Folta from the University of Florida (@kevinfolta on twitter) tweeted about it. He provided my with a link to the study that seems to have published by „Moms across America“ in 2016. They also provide some details of the study in an…
The Guardian published an article a couple of days back (on the 15th of December 2018) titled „Legal plastic content in animal feed could harm human health, experts warn“. As a reaction, I tweeted the following: Anja Leetz, then asked me to explain the, admittedly vague, tweet. Fair enough, so here it goes. I have…
The final version of our microplastic debate („much ado about nothing?“) is now online: https://peerj.com/preprints/26507v6/ This is the sixth incarnation of the preprint, which now includes the final statements from Martin and myself. Make sure that you don’t miss Therese Karlsson’s feedback to the preprint. Therese is working on the issue of microplastics in the…
I have the dubious honor of having caught the attention of the „American Council of Science and Health“, in the Form of Alex Berezow & Co. They are trying to claim that I have „rampant financial conflicts of interest“ that I hide when publishing my scientific papers. Because I also work as an environmental consultant…