Have you ever wondered what happens to those plastic bottles
and bags you see on the side of the road while you’re driving? Or have you
asked yourself how these items can possibly harm a sea turtle or a fish? This
summer in the lab, I am researching these questions and more. My name is Katie
Veasey, I am a rising junior at
Hamilton College majoring in Environmental Studies, and I became interested in
the plastic pollution epidemic at a young age, by participating in COA's Beach Sweeps.
As COA’s Marine Science Intern, I will be applying my knowledge of
environmental science and chemistry to help determine how much plastic is out there that we are not seeing and the detrimental impacts it has on
our marine environment.
Once we
discard our plastic, we don't think twice about it. Unfortunately, it never really
goes away - whether it's in a landfill, the ocean, or in the stomach of a
whale, plastic does not biodegrade. Rather, it photodegrades when it is in the
environment. When the plastic is exposed to the sun's rays and is agitated from
water movement, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces that fish and
other marine animals can collect and then consume. Other than being harmful to
marine life by being confused as food, plastics carry high concentrations of
toxic chemicals called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) (Frias et al.
2010). These include PCBs, DDTs, and flame retardants- in other words, not
anything you want in your food.
Clean
Ocean Action has launched a research initiative to quantify the presence and
abundance of these plastics at our beaches along the Jersey Shore. From Sandy
Hook to Cape May, we are analyzing sand and water samples, looking for microplastics polluting
these ecologically important areas. Further steps in the study include
assessing visible microplastics along the coast and documenting microplastics
in New Jersey’s low-trophic level coastal fishes,
while promoting citizen action. As COA's Marine Science Intern, I am working on
analyzing the samples that have already been processed and helping to process
the remaining sand samples. I will be working with the Principal Investigators
of this study, Catie Tobin of Clean Ocean Action, Beth Sharack of National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Marine Academy of Science
and Technology (MAST) seniors Bobby McLaughlin and Nicolette Runko throughout
the summer.
Follow
my blog series throughout the summer for updates from the lab as we discover
these microplastics!
Click here for the full
overview of our research project: http://cleanoceanaction.org/index.php?id=824
