This image was taken with my camera phone by pointng it into the eye of
a microscope.
Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our ocean and Great Lakes. Plastic debris can come in all shapes and sizes, but those that are less than five millimeters in length (or about the size of a pencil eraser) are called “microplastics.” Microplastics can come from a variety of sources including larger plastic pieces that have broken apart, resin pellets used for plastic manufacturing, or in the form of microbeads, which are small, manufactured plastic beads used in health and beauty products.
Are Microplastics Harmful?
Experiments show that the exposure to microplastics induces a variety of toxic effects, including oxidative stress, metabolic disorder, immune response, neurotoxicity, as well as reproductive and developmental toxicity.The production and destruction of plastics produces particles and gases that contribute to climate change, and plastic left to break down in the environment releases greenhouse gases. Studies suggest that microplastics disrupt marine microorganisms’ globally crucial roles of sequestering carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. These deficits further jeopardize our health and that of our planet. However, limited by the existing technical methods, there is no systematic research on the absorption, metabolism, migration, transformation, and accumulation of microplastics.
