This paper reviews current knowledge on the health consequences of ingested micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs). Studies have shown that MNPs can be ingested through seafood, sea salt, drinking water, possibly fruit, vegetables and rice, and even airborne particles. One estimate suggests that each person consumes an average of 5 grams of plastic in the form of MNPs each week, although other studies suggest only a fraction of ingested plastic is actually absorbed into the body.

This paper attempts to quantify for the first time the planetary boundary for “novel entities” (NE-PB), including chemicals, new types of materials and modified forms of life. It focuses on chemical pollution, in particular plastics, and concludes that we fall outside a “safe operating space” for this planetary boundary.

This report from the John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future addresses a common concern among urban farming communities: is food grown in the city safe to eat? Focusing on Baltimore, it finds that soil, water and produce from the urban farms and gardens studied have safe levels of harmful metals, with some rare exceptions. TABLE staff member Matthew Kessler contributed to this project. 

This report from the UK charity the Soil Association examines how disruption to the nitrogen cycle can damage the climate, biodiversity and human health. It proposes replacing widespread use of synthetic fertilisers with agroecological use of nitrogen-fixing legumes and manure from grass-fed livestock. 

This paper analyses thousands of nitrogen policies from 186 countries. It finds that environmental nitrogen policies are not well integrated across various domains (such as water and air pollution) and that many agricultural policies encourage the use of nitrogen fertilisers, prioritising food production over environmental protection.

This report from the UK think tank Green Alliance argues that the problem of plastic pollution cannot be solved by simply replacing plastic with alternative materials - instead, a system-wide transition to a circular economy is required, prioritising safety, sustainability and efficiency. The report focuses on the UK’s culture of single-use packaging.

Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic formed as larger pieces break down in the environment, or else intentionally manufactured (e.g. as microbeads for cleaning products or pellets for industrial use). This paper reviews the current state of knowledge on their human health implications and effects on ecosystems. 

This book gives details of methods for detecting and dealing with various agrochemicals, including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and soil fumigants.

This paper outlines the main sustainability challenges linked to nitrogen, including inadequate access to nitrogen fertiliser in some parts of the world and excessive fertiliser application in other areas, leading to water pollution, algal blooms and risks to human health. The paper argues that solving nitrogen problems would have co-benefits for other sustainability issues such as hunger, air, soil and water quality, climate and biodiversity.