Preventing microplastic and microparticle pollution in waterways
Zooplankton Ecologist Juanita Urban-Rich, Ph.D., of UMass Boston, gave the compelling talk, Microparticles in Coastal Waters around Massachusetts at a symposium held last Thursday, hosted by Labconscious and New England Biolabs. Like many, I had read about how ubiquitous microplastics are - how they could be found in the most remote places on Earth. It was still jolting to see this material turning up in samples collected from such vast volumes of ocean water in my own backyard.
Dr. Urban-Rich explained how the term microparticle is more accurate than microplastic because it encompasses the compositional variety of the pollution being found in waterways. Microparticles often derive from decomposing plastic. They can be composed of various plastic polymers, but can also be partially composed of organic materials. Microparticles can carry chemicals that leach. Some leachates were absorbed during a plastic item’s use before disposal and some, like plasticizers, were used to manufacture the material itself. Most microparticles carry microbes, including pathogenic microbes. The density of microparticles impacts their environmental distribution in waterways and therefore the types of organisms that encounter them.
“Understanding the impacts is a huge question right now. There are many things we can do (to address microparticle pollution) from individuals to corporations to the government level.”
-Juanita Urban-Rich, Ph.D.
Unfortunately, evidence produced by Dr. Urban-Rich’s lab and collaborator studies suggest physical and chemical impacts on organisms. In one example, Astrangia poculata, commonly known as Northern Star Corral, preferred ingesting microparticles over food. While this talk focused on Massachusetts waterways presumably these findings should alert us to risks in other urban coastal environments. When I asked Dr. Urban-Rich if there were actions that individuals or organizations could take now she laid out several paths. Importantly, she expressed that there is still much toxicology work that needs to be done - as well as a need for methodology development and new technology to measure microparticle and nanoparticle abundance in fieldwork. Broadly, she shared that “Understanding the impacts is a huge question right now. There are many things we can do (to address microparticle pollution) from individuals to corporations to the government level.”
The interplay between microparticle water pollution and organisms concerns all biologists, beyond those working outside this rapidly emerging field of research. While there is more to learn, there is also enough scientific knowledge to prompt us to take action.
the Go Green 2023 Symposium
Taking concrete action, as individuals and organizations was the overarching theme of the four talks and discussions at our Go Green 2023 Symposium. We heard that there are emerging solutions to prevent microplastics from entering wastewater. We heard how teamwork at a leading biopharma research department put green lab initiatives in place. We heard how networking can help life science organizations work together to reduce the carbon footprint of a city, in the midst of a global energy crisis. We heard how a biotech company with environmental stewardship as a core value, incorporates sustainability into its scientific facilities and operations. While life science faces challenges to sustainability given the nature of lab work, it’s encouraging to see progress in protecting our natural world.
Speakers in the Go Green 2023 symposium:
Juanita Urban-Rich, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Zooplankton Ecology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, School for the Environment
Jessie Dow, Lab Operations Lead and Green Lab Champion, Pfizer
Jennifer Ballew, Sustainability Project Planner for the Climate Team, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Patrick Norton, Director, Facilities and Engineering, New England Biolabs
Rotjan, Randi D., Koty H. Sharp, Anna E. Gauthier, Rowan Yelton, Eliya M. Baron Lopez, Jessica Carilli, Jonathan C. Kagan, and Juanita Urban-Rich. "Patterns, dynamics, and consequences of microplastic ingestion by the temperate coral, Astrangia poculata." Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286, no. 1905 (2019): 20190726.