Scientists found microplastics in Margaret Atwood's blood. What does she think of it? 'Bad'

Toronto Star · Kevin Jiang · 2026-11-06 10:00 UTC

Familiar faces across North America, from Rona Ambrose to Fran Drescher, were tested for microplastic particles. Here's what the findings mean.

Margaret Atwood was shocked by the results of her blood test.

The 86-year-old literary icon told the Star that, growing up in the backwoods of northern Quebec and rural Ontario, “there were no plastics in my childhood and we never ate much plasticized food.” Yet scientists have found thousands of microscopic plastic shards flowing through her veins — mostly common polymers found in plastic bottles, food packaging, footwear and tires.

Atwood is one of 28 high-profile participants across Canada and the U.S. featured in a new report that measured microplastics in the bodies of publicly identified individuals — the first to do so, according to the authors. The analysis detected plastic contaminants in the blood of all participants but one.

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