Microplastics in Water, Air, and Foods

Cater, Anne; Kongsomjit, Pitipat; Gaughan, Ava

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Microplastics in Water, Air, and Foods

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Microplastics, by definition, are plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in diameter—due to their extreme ubiquity and potential threat to life, there are strong incentives to study their effects. We conduct a literature review of ~250 papers on top of expert interviews to understand the effects of microplastics and potential solutions. In regards to health, the presence of MPs in the body has been linked to lung cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, reproductive issues, and as a vector for pathogens on top of other potential issues. In regards to the environment, through runoffs and weather breakdowns, MPs have been found in nearly all environments: their massive presence on the ocean surface can be detected by satellites, shape-corrected simulation models suggests presence in the stratosphere, and studies suggests agricultural soil stores microplastics even better than ocean basins. In regards to ecology, numerous species are threatened either directly or indirectly through food web disruption by microplastics: on land the reproductive systems of soil invertebrates and rodents are negatively affected, in the seas species of planktons have been found to also suffer reproductive stress and are more susceptible to predators. In regards to the economy, business journals have pointed to recycling as a major business opportunity, however, whether recycling is more detrimental to the MP issue than helpful is a point of contention we explore. This was done alongside our own surveys which were designed to investigate how people perceive microplastics—we found that the vast majority of participants felt concerned and were willing to take action while paradoxically believing the vast majority of participants to be unaware and unwilling to take action. We discuss the implications of this through the lens of climate change activism and misinformation as a case study. Lastly we discuss various potential solutions based on the results of our literature search and private survey.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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