News

The Microplastics Fingerprinting project team consists of over 25 faculty members, masters and PhD students, and support staff from various disciplinary backgrounds. We recognize this diversity as a strength that enables an interdisciplinary and holistic evaluation of the challenges and solutions associated with microplastics. Each issue of our newsletter will feature one of the project’s excellent researchers.

The oxidation and eventual decomposition of plastics in the environment has been gaining attention as the public becomes increasingly aware of microplastics.

The Microplastics Fingerprinting project team consists of over 25 faculty members, masters and PhD students, and support staff from various disciplinary backgrounds. We recognize this diversity as a strength that enables an interdisciplinary and holistic evaluation of the challenges and solutions associated with microplastics. Each issue of our newsletter will feature one of the project’s excellent researchers.

Have you collected plastic samples from the environment? We would be happy to take it off your hands!

Microplastics are detected in many surface waters including those used for drinking water production. Although the impact of microplastics on human health is not well understood yet, it is prudent to be proactive and to establish how well currently used drinking water treatment processes remove these microplastics. Drinking water treatment plants are comprised of a series of treatment steps and coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation (CFS) is a key process designed to remove particles from surface water.

The widespread distribution and abundance of microplastics (MPs) has led to concerns about the impacts of this form of pollution on the environment. To better understand how MPs may be impacting the environment, we need to further develop the methods that we can use for the accurate identification of MPs. This is an important step supporting environmental assessment via tracing the source of plastic pollution and understanding the fate and transport of MPs in the environment.

Microplastics, tiny plastic particles that result from both product development and the breakdown of larger plastics, are of increasing global concern as we learn that they are now ubiquitous in marine environments and may have hazardous ecological and health impacts. Despite a growing amount of microplastics-related research, we still lack a clear, comprehensive overview of the problem and associated potential risks. Part of the challenge is a lack of standardization in microplastics data management. This makes it difficult to compare and analyze datasets.