Alekya Dharmavaram, Prudence Wachira, Makaylah Jones, Abbey Lowe
General Chemistry I Lab Honors
8 November 2024
Impact of Sampling Sites on Microplastic Contamination in Water
General Topic: Microplastics
Research Question: How does the concentration of microplastics present in
river ecosystems differ depending on industrial traffic and geographical
location?
Background Information
Microplastics are extremely small pieces of debris in the environment
resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and
industrial waste. They are now recognized as a pervasive pollutant within
marine environments (2). Ingestion of microplastics by marine life has been
recorded (2). Animals inject these pollutants, and humans consume the
animals. Ingestion of microplastics can cause inflammation, lipid
accumulation, and even death. They accumulate in the body until there is
too much to digest. They block digestive tracks, and they block nutrients
from properly distributing throughout the body. Microplastics pollution in the
environment is closely determined by the surrounding industrial and human
activities (3).
The high level of microplastics pollution found in the water results from
textiles and other human activities (3). While removing them is almost
impossible, controlling the amount of pollution and conducting research on
their effect is beneficial to humans and marine life. The more studies that we
conduct, the safer our water sources and marine life can become. Safe and
healthy marine life means safe and healthy humans.
Different sampling sites were assigned to us for this lab. We will be
obtaining our water samples from other groups. We will filter and run
experiments in the lab to accurately determine the level of microplastics
from these different sites, and then we will compare the data. The three
sampling sites were Meadowlawn Park, Little Cahaba, and Hoover East.
Although these water sources are connected, they are all different. The Little
Cahaba site is hidden, with little to no exposure to people or any kind of
factories. On the contrary, the Meadowlawn Park sample site is located near
a park making it susceptible to litter. This can expose the water to more
pollutants leading to a higher number of microplastics (2. As shown in a
research study done in China and Europe with textile industries, industries
are associated with high levels of pollution with microplastics (1, 4).
Significance of our Research
Our research should be conducted because there is still very little
research on the abundance of microplastics in various water sites. If we do
not know the abundance of microplastics, then we cannot accurately
research the effects of microplastics on humans and marine life. Based on
our research, we can hypothesize that the Meadowlawn Park site will have
the most amount of microplastics found in the water since it has the highest
level of human activity around it. Since our water samples come from
different sampling sites each with different levels of human activity, we will
be able to test this question. By considering the unique characteristics of
each site, we will be able to gain a better understanding of microplastics and
their effect. The more studies that we conduct, the safer our water sources
and marine life can become. Safe and healthy marine life means safe and
healthy humans.
Sources:
1. OECD. Policies to Reduce Microplastics Pollution in Water Focus on
Textiles and Tyres; 2021.
https://www.oecd.org/environment/waste/policy-highlights-policies-to-
reduce-microplastics-pollution-in-water-focus-textiles-and-tyres.pdf.
2. Tibbetts, J.; Krause, S.; Lynch, I.; Sambrook Smith, G. Abundance,
Distribution, and Drivers of Microplastic Contamination in Urban River
Environments. Water 2018, 10 (11), 1597.
https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111597.
3. Deng, H.; Wei, R.; Luo, W.; Hu, L.; Li, B.; Di, Y.; Shi, H. Microplastic
Pollution in Water and Sediment in a Textile Industrial
Area. Environmental Pollution 2020, 258, 113658.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113658.
4. European Environment Agency. Microplastics from textiles: towards a
circular economy for textiles in Europe — European Environment
Agency. www.eea.europa.eu.
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/microplastics-from-textiles-
towards-a.
5. He, B.; Liu, A.; Duodu, G. O.; Wijesiri, B.; Ayoko, G. A.; Goonetilleke, A.
Distribution and Variation of Metals in Urban River Sediments in
Response to Microplastics Presence, Catchment Characteristics and
Sediment Properties. Science of The Total Environment 2023, 856,
159139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159139.
