Journal
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
Volume 409, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124770
Keywords
Marine Microplastics; Oceans; Streams; Sediments; Aquatic ecosystems; Best practices; Quality assurance; quality control
Categories
Funding
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay, Patagonia
- Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation
- East Bay Municipal Utility District
- City of Palo Alto
- California Ocean Protection Council
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Microplastics are pervasive and persistent contaminants in the ocean, posing a threat to marine ecosystems. Despite the infancy of the field, there is a lack of widely accepted standards and practices for accurate measurement and management of microplastic pollution.
Microplastics are ubiquitous and persistent contaminants in the ocean and a pervasive and preventable threat to the health of marine ecosystems. Microplastics come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and plastic types, each with unique physical and chemical properties and toxicological impacts. Understanding the magnitude of the microplastic problem and determining the highest priorities for mitigation require accurate measures of microplastic occurrence in the environment and identification of likely sources. The field of microplastic pollution is in its infancy, and there are not yet widely accepted standards for sample collection, laboratory analyses, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC), or reporting of microplastics in environmental samples. Based on a comprehensive assessment of microplastics in San Francisco Bay water, sediment, fish, bivalves, stormwater, and wastewater effluent, we developed recommended best practices for collecting, analyzing, and reporting microplastics in environmental media. We recommend factors to consider in microplastic study design, particularly in regard to site selection and sampling methods. We also highlight the need for standard QA/QC practices such as collection of field and laboratory blanks, use of methods beyond microscopy to identify particle composition, and standardized reporting practices, including suggested vocabulary for particle classification.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available