Watershed Co-op Zack Smith collecting a microplastic sample in Crum Creek at Kirkwood Preserve. Photo by Monica McQuail/Staff.
Watershed Protection Co-op Zack Smith holding a microplastic sample taken at Rushton Woods Preserve. Photo by Lauren McGrath/Staff.
Microplastic Pollution is No Small Problem in our Headwaters By Zack Smith, Watershed Protection Co-Op
M
ass production and consumption of plastic have reached all corners of our globe, from the depths of the oceans to the air around us, and even right here in Willistown. Plastic pollution comes in all shapes and sizes, but microplastics have been receiving increased attention due to the way they infiltrate our natural spaces. Specifically, microplastics are pieces of plastic that are less than 5 millimeters in diameter. Plastics at this size are called primary microplastics. Secondary microplastics occur when litter or other plastic refuse enter the environment and begin breaking into thousands of little pieces. Consequently, scientists have been finding plastics in almost every single spot they look for them — including in our own bodies. Microplastic pollution has been documented in museum collections of fish specimens dating back to the 1950s, which indicates that microplastics have likely been a danger to life on Earth since their invention. Plastics carry contaminants and pathogens that can harm species by hindering their ability to properly function. Oceans, the atmosphere, and urban rivers have been the main focus of most microplastic research, but very little has been done to document microplastic pollution in low order streams. Here at the Trust, we want to ensure the land and waters we preserve are facing as few impacts as possible by understanding all pressures and pollutants as best we can. With microplastics being documented across global landscapes, we couldn’t help but wonder: are microplastics present in the headwaters of Ridley, Crum, and Darby Creek? The Trust initiated the study of microplastic pollution during the summer of 2020 when Watershed Protection Program Co-Op Zack Smith of Drexel University analyzed the Trust’s “historic” water samples that had been gathered from January of 2018 through March of 2020. After discovering the presence of microplastic pollution in these samples, Smith eliminated the potential for cross-contamination by adjusting sample protocol to include plastic-free sampling. Using glass sampling jars and plastic-free processing, in April 2021, Willistown Conservation Trust Co-Ops Gloria Avila, Chase Foster, Niya Moss, Zack Smith and Anna Willig and Director of the Watershed Protection Program Lauren
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