The Plastic Exposure Reduction Transforms Health
The PERTH Trial
Are you concerned about the effects of plastics and associated chemicals on human health? Register below to receive research updates from The PERTH Trial.
About the PERTH Trial
Reducing our exposure to plastics could transform our health. Australians are exposed to chemicals found in plastics every day, often without noticing. They can be found in the products we put on our skin, the clothing we wear, the air we breathe and the food we eat and more, but not enough is known about the impacts on health.
Professor Michaela Lucas from The University of Western Australia is leading this research trial investigating exposure to plastic chemicals in adults in Perth, Western Australia.
Stage 4: Fertility & Plastics is now underway. You can register your interest here.
At the PERTH Trial, working with consumers is a way we can remain inclusive, appropriate, and responsive to the needs of our community. We are currently looking for people (of all genders) with lived experience of male reproductive issues (or a support person of someone with those issues) to participate in a community engagement group.
By investing a few hours of your time, you can be involved in shaping groundbreaking science, surround yourself with like-minded people and give back to the community.
To register, please get in touch via our Expression of Interest form or email us at [email protected] with any questions.
- Do we know if plastic chemicals are a threat to human health?
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Rising rates of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions coincide with increasing use of plastic-associated chemicals like BPA and phthalates in our environment and everyday lives.
These chemicals are considered hazardous because they disrupt our hormone system and so are called ‘endocrine disrupters’ but research in this field is limited.
- We need high quality research in Australia!
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Our approach
Firstly, we need to find the common sources of exposure to plastic chemicals in Western Australia, and examine how much of these chemicals we consume, process, and eventually excrete from our bodies.
Once we understand how much we are exposed to, the next step is to avoid the known sources of these plastic chemicals and see if there is a reduction of plastic chemicals in our urine and stool.
Finally, blood tests taken during the study will help identify any markers of inflammation associated with plastic chemicals that can cause chronic diseases.
Trial objectives
To detect the levels of plastic chemicals in the body
To identify possible sources of exposure to plastic chemicals in the Perth population
To investigate if reducing exposure to plastic chemicals results in decreased excretion from the body
To determine whether reducing exposure to plastic chemicals improves cardiometabolic health
Frequently asked questions
- Is the PERTH Trial currently recruiting participants?
- Our research team is currently taking expressions of interest from biological males and females with lived experience of fertility issues to help inform the design of our next study. This study will investigate the effects of reducing plastic exposure on fertility.
- Who is funding the trial?
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The Minderoo Foundation has awarded a research grant to the University of Western Australia.
Find out more about the Foundation's Plastics initiative and human health focus.
- Further reading
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- The role of endocrine-disrupting phthalates and bisphenols in cardiometabolic disease: the evidence is mounting
- Buy-now-pay-later: Hazards to human and planetary health from plastics production, use and waste
- Assessing the contribution of plastic-associated obesogenic compounds to cardiometabolic diseases
- Plastics in human diets: development and evaluation of the 24-h Dietary Recall — Plastic Exposure and the Dietary Plastics Score
- Randomised controlled trial of a low plastic diet and lifestyle intervention for adults with cardiometabolic risk factors: the Plastic Exposure Reduction Transforms Health (PERTH) trial – a protocol
- Plastics in Every Breath: The Silent Respiratory Health Threat We Cannot Avoid
- The West Australian - Microplastics: UWA conducted PERTH study examines if we can resolve the health harms of plastic
- Body+Soul - 7 changes you can make to avoid microplastics in your home
- The Plastic Convenience Con: plastic toxicity, exposure and human health
- Plastics, Diet and Human Health: The Need for Policy Change – UWA Sustainable Development Goal Report 2025
Learn more
Email us at [email protected] or contact a member of the clinical research team:
- Tamsin (Clinical Trial Coordinator)
- M: 0413 355 866
We are located at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands WA 6009
- Parking information
- Travel and Parking Instructions [PDF, 197KB]
The University of Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee has approved this study (Approval ID: 2021/ET001118)
Related videos/podcasts
- The Last Straw
- Study into the impacts plastic has on our health - 9 News Perth (28 December 2022)
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