The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is sampling rivers and streams across the state to test for microplastics.
Edward Kostelnik, an environmental quality analyst at EGLE, said 50 sites will be sampled three times a year over a four-year period, covering 200 rivers and streams. The water samples will be sent to a lab and tested, analyzing the size and composition of the microplastics present.
The first sample was taken in May. Kostelnik said they found microplastics in most samples so far, with varying concentrations, but they are still in the process of analyzing the data to determine what it means.
The project is funded by a $2 million budget for research on plastic pollution and microplastics throughout the Great Lakes. EGLE is also hosting a Great Lakes Microplastic Summit on October 22 to share its latest findings.
Microplastics are small plastic particles that are formed through the breakdown of larger plastic pollutants, according to Donna Kashian, a research professor at Wayne State University and the president of the International Association of Great Lakes Research. Microplastics can also be intentionally manufactured through industrial processes.
Litter on the side of roads and in parks break down, ending up in places like rivers, stormwater drains, and sewage pipes, Kashian said. Industrial discharge and stormwater runoff can lead to polluted waters.
The plastics affect drinking water as well. Microplastics are leaching from plastic water bottles and teabags, and can pass into tap water.
“Our current wastewater treatment plans do not have the capacity to clean out the plastics from our wastewater or drinking water,” Kashian said.
Three bills are being introduced in the Michigan Senate that attempt to limit the use of microplastics. SB 505 would allow EGLE to develop a research and monitoring plan to study the impacts of microplastics across the state. SB 504 would require testing the amount of microplastics in public drinking water. And SB 503 would ban the manufacture and sale of personal care products containing plastic microbeads.
“The purpose of our project is to get a read on the general baseline concentration of microplastics across the state and potentially inform what future monitoring could look like,” Kostelnik said. He added that they are working on developing a statewide microplastic strategy to get a more holistic view of the impacts.
Kashian’s team has monitored where the microplastics are coming from in their urban area of Detroit and found they are accumulating.
Kashian said they have found aquatic organisms with microplastics embedded in their gills, making it harder for the animals to breathe. The harmful material lines their stomachs, rendering them increasingly unhealthy. Their research also found that microplastics can disrupt photosynthesis in plants, which creates much of the oxygen we need to breathe.
“We have no restrictions on the microplastics coming in, and it’s become an important part of our society now, for medical equipment and for everything,” Kashian continued. “And the problem is there’s no slowing in sight.”
Both experts said it's not possible to predict the full impact microplastics have on humans, and more research needs to be done on how the inhalation and ingestion of them affects the body.
“If these were first introduced in the environment 40 years ago, in another 30 years where are we then?” Kashian said. “It’s scary.”
