In 2022, researchers examined human blood samples and detected microplastics in 77% of participants. Their goal was to compare exposed individuals to those free of microplastics to study its effects. However, due to the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in air, water, food, and even clothing, every individual tested was likely exposed. The lack of an uncontaminated control group meant that scientists couldn’t directly compare health outcomes between exposed and unexposed populations. This finding underscores the global scale of microplastic pollution, making it an unavoidable aspect of modern life. While studies like these have advanced our understanding of microplastic contamination, they highlight a critical obstacle in environmental health research—our inability to escape the widespread impact of pollution.