Science Inventory

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Microplastics are a growing concern in our environment. Methods for the isolation and extraction of these small particles (1- 1000 microns) from environmental media vary widely and prevent meaningful comparison among reported environmental concentrations. As microplastics beco...

The distribution and fate of microplastics (MPs) (plastic particles &lt;1mm in size) in marine environments are largely unknown. There are over 100 peer reviewed extraction methods for the isolation of microplastics from marine sediments; however, major procedural differences pre...

This presentation will summarize microplastics-related research currently being performed at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It will include research initiated by EPA Regions, exploratory research currently ongoing with micro/nanoplastics, and Regional and Office...

Plastic is a persistent and growing environmental pollutant. Plastics breakdown into microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPls) when they undergo environmental exposure and aging. The presence of NPl &amp;MPs contaminating drinking water, urban watersheds, marine, and freshwater...

Awareness of microplastics in our environment, and the commitment of research to understand their fate and effects is rapidly increasing. Accurate measurement of microplastics in environmental matrices is key to understanding sources, transport, sinks, and ultimately ecological ...

Plastic pollution is a growing environmental concern. Microplastics (MPs) are 100 &micro;m) and therefore cannot be utilized for every MP particle. Despite this limitation, preliminary data shows that IRMS has great potential for determining age and source of MP particles.

The distribution and fate of microplastics (MPs) (plastic particles &lt;1mm in size) in marine environments are largely unknown. There are over 100 peer reviewed extraction methods for the isolation of microplastics from marine sediments; however, major procedural differences pre...

Polymers present to modern society remarkable performance characteristics desired by a wide range of consumers but the fate of polymers in the environment has become a massive management problem. Polymer applications offer molecular structures attractive to product engineers desi...

Despite frequent field observations of microplastics (i.e., plastic particles &lt;5mm in size) there is a critical knowledge gap of their fate and effects in marine and estuarine environments. Many microplastics ultimately accumulate in marine sediments because of physicochemical...

Global production of synthetic polymers, dominated by polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, exceeded 335 Mt in 2016, and is expected to double over the next 20 years. Here we present results of studies that evaluated the photodegradation of a composite of low densit...

Abstract: Plastic is a persistent and growing environmental pollutant. Small (largest crosswise dimension &lt;5 mm) particles called &lsquo;microplastics&rsquo; (MPs) are of special concern because they have been found to disrupt marine ecosystems globally. The presence of MPs co...

Microplastics in the ocean and sediments are an increasing problem. Many different types of methods exist to extract microplastics from sediments. EPA is working on a project to quantify the recovery of microplastics in sediments with commonly used methods published in the scient...

Guest Lecture on Contaminants of Emerging Concern

Awareness of microplastics in our environment, and the commitment of research to understand their fate and effects is rapidly increasing. Accurate measurement of microplastics in environmental matrices is key to understanding sources, transport, sinks, and ultimately ecological ...

Despite frequent field observations of microplastics (plastic particles &lt;5mm in size) there is a critical knowledge gap of their fate and effects in marine and estuarine environments. Relative to fate, much of the microplastics will ultimately accumulate in marine sediments as...

The impact that microplastics (&lt;5&#8239;mm) have on scleractinian coral is largely unknown. This study investigated calcification effects, size limits, and retention times of microbeads and microfibers in two Caribbean species, Montastraea cavernosa and Orbicella faveolata, in...

Microplastics in the ocean and sediments are an increasing problem. Sediment microplastics will make a good national coastal condition assessment (NCCA) supplemental Indicator. This brief, informal presentation suggested that measuring microplastics in sediments is feasible and ...

Epoxies are widely used in various applications, including coatings, electronics insulations, and waterproofing applications due to their excellent properties such as good adhesion, electrical insulation, and heat resistance along with the strong mechanical property. Currently, n...

Epoxy-based materials are widely used for coatings, electronics insulations, and waterproofing applications due to their excellent properties such as excellent adhesion, electrical insulation, and heat resistance along with the strong mechanical property. The making of composites...

The deleterious effects of microplastic ingestion by marine organisms and the impacts across trophic levels are widely unknown. Due to the extensive ecological and socioeconomic benefits provided by coral reefs, investigating the impacts of microplastics on reef ecosystems is of ...

The prevalence of microplastics (&lt;5mm) in the marine environment has been of increasing concern in the past decade. Microplastics have been shown to be ingested by aquatic organisms, however the physical and toxic effects of microplastic ingestion in marine organisms, includin...

Almost 50 yr ago, in the classic film The Graduate, the main character Ben (played by Dustin Hoffman) was advised that his future should be in “plastics.” That future may be coming back to haunt all of us now. It is estimated that 5 to 13 million metric tons of plastics enter the...

This news column is composed of several items exemplifying clean technology and its assessment.