Due to the
weather, I've been postponing my project pertaining to whether FL's east coast
has more plastic debris than the west coast, if any. This weekend I plan on
braving the Florida heat and visiting two to three beaches between Port
Canaveral and Florida's northern border.
The
following is what I'll be looking for:
1. Plastic
debris that has been crushed and broken up by the sun and waves, if found on
the east coast a possible source could be the North Atlantic garbage patch.
2. Pea size
plastic resin pellets which would be easily visible during a visual survey,
source of this debris is from loss during transportation of pellets to
factories as well as during the manufacturing process itself. Recycle Plastics,
LLC, located near Tampa, could be a possible source of such resin pellets if
any found in that area.
3. Microbeads,
made of polyethylene plastic, are
used as exfoliates in face wash and body soaps. These plastic beads can be
smaller than one millimeter, thus I will be examining sediment samples in the
lab for this source of plastic debris.
WOW--microbeads of plastic in facial scrubs? Who knew???!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome to start examining your samples in the lab. Just let me know and we'll create a schedule for you.
Angela--I was talking to my husband about the contaminants associated with your plastic beads. He said that if any of the contaminants were something other than hydrocarbons (e.g., mercury), he could detect them with his Scanning Electron Microscope. He said all you need is a few beads that represent your sample and to make sure that you stored/transported them correctly in glass, non-foiled lined containers and kept refrigerated. Do you know what type of contaminants are typically associated with these beads/plastics?
ReplyDeleteI'll be doing a more detailed blog on the types of pollutants during the week you take the other group on the "boat", but according to International Pellet Watch pollutants include PCBs, DDTs, HCH, and Nonylphenol (I will research what each of those is and explain in the future blog entry). From a cancer perspective I'd like to know if the plastics have BPA, Bisphenol A, in them.
DeleteI am beside myself. The human race claims to be intelligent and then I see this. Keep up the great research. For the record, the red biogenous sediment on the beach makes a great exfoliant.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago we switched to everything "natural/organic" but before that I apparently spent years scrubbing my face with plastic!!!
DeleteSeeing the handful of plastic makes me sick! I'm so sad for the organisms who have to live in this and eats it. I'm going to be very interested in your findings.
ReplyDelete