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Isolating, Identifying and Quantifying Small Plastic Components of Aquatic Trash
Citation:
Zepp, R. AND Brad Acrey. Isolating, Identifying and Quantifying Small Plastic Components of Aquatic Trash. 2020 SETAC North America Annual Meeting, Virtual, November 15 - 19, 2020.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at the SETAC North America 41st Annual Meeting in the Session: Micro- and Nanoplastics: Harmonizing Methods & Addressing Research Challenges.
Description:
Aquatic trash includes plastic materials that have become widely distributed in the environment. Microplastics (MPs), with sizes smaller than 5 mm, have been a focal point of studies that include the occurrence of these MPs, the interactions of MPs with chemical pollutants, the nature and quantities of MPs produced by fragmentation of plastics in the environment, and the uptake of MPs by aquatic organisms. The multiplicity of sampling and identification methods applied in MP studies has resulted in diverse data sets with different spatial resolutions and quality. Therefore, research is needed in order to optimize and harmonize future MP analyses, deconvolute and interpret existing datasets, and to fill current knowledge gaps of the impact of these particles in aquatic systems. This research will help in the reliable assessment of the environmental risks associated with MP. Here, we discuss approaches for isolation and identification of small MPs (≤20 µm ) in different size ranges, fragmentation sources of MPs, and chemical contaminants associated with MPs in recreational waters and/or drinking water sources. Approaches will be discussed that minimize interferences to these methods by common constituents in natural waters such as dissolved organic matter.
