2% 2%

96%

WestchesterCountyTotalPlasticsPerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

2% 1%

97%

125thStreetTotalPlasticsPerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

1% 3%

96%

79thStreetTotalPlasticsPerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

1%1%

98%

SouthernTipofManhattanTotalPlastics

PerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

METHODS

1%1%

98%

WardIslandTotalPlasticsPerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

1% 1%

98%

NewtownCreekTotalPlasticsPerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

1%

99%

HarlemRiverTotalPlasticsPerLiter

PlasticFibersPerLiter

MicrobeadsPerLiter

MicroplasticsPerLiter

SAMPLINGSITES1.   WestchesterCounty2.   125thStreet3.   79thStreet4.   SouthernTipofManhattan5.   NewtownCreek6.   WardIsland7.   HarlemRiverWATERDISCHARGEMEASUREMENTS:1)Temp2)Salinity3)Chlorophylla4)Turbidity5)OxygenSat.6)pH

0.00

20.00

40.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Tempe

rature(℃

)

SampleSites

TemperatureofSampleSites

0.0020.0040.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Salin

ity(p

pt)

SampleSites

SalinityofSampleSites

0.00

100.00

200.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Chloroph

yllA

(rfu)

SampleSites

ChlorophyllaofSampleSites

0.005.0010.0015.0020.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Turbidity

(NTU

)

SampleSites

TurbidityofSampleSites

0.00100.00200.00

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

OxygenSat.(%)

SampleSites

OxygenSaturationofSampleSites

6.507.007.508.008.50

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

pH

SampleSites

pHofSampleSites

o  Wefoundawiderangeofplasticsfromplasticfibersandmicrobeadstomicroplasticparticlesinatallsamplesites

o  Microbeadsandplasticfiberstrandscomprisetheleastamountofallplasticparticles.

o  FromWestchestertotheSoutherntipofManhattan,thereisanincreasingtrendintheamountoftotalplastics

o  NewtownCreekhadthelargestamountoftotalplasticso  PreliminaryanalysisofNewtownCreekmicroplasticssuggeststhatatenolol,a

popularbloodpressuredrug,isoneoftheadsorbedorganicso  FTIRspectroscopicanalysisconfirmsthatthewatersampleshadmicroplastics

includingpolyethyleneterephthalate(PET)andpolypropylenecopolymer(PPC).o  NewtownCreek(NTC)hadthehighestamountofpigmentchlorophyllaand

oxygensaturation,andoneofthehighestsalinitiesandpH.

Results

o  MicroplasticsareindeedwidespreadaroundtheNewYorkmetropolitanarea,appearinginnumerousformssuchasmicrobeads,plasticfibers,andmicroplasticparticles

o  FTIRspectroscopicanalysisconfirmsthattheprotocolsthatweusedarefunctionalandreliable

o  NewtownCreekhadthehighestamountoftotalmicroplastics,becauseitisthelargestofNYC’swastewatertreatmentplants.Theamountofmicroplasticsmaycorrelatewiththehighlevelofpollutionandindustrializationthere

o  Theabsorbanceofthepharmaceuticalatenololsuggeststhatmicroplasticsmaybeavectoroftoxiccompounds

o  Theingestionofmicroplasticsbyestuarineand/ormarineorganismsmayimpactthefoodchainbyspreadingthetoxiccompounds

o  Highlevelsofdiatomchains(phytoplankton)maybearesultoftherichamountofnutrientsfromdischargeandpollutioninNewtownCreek

o  Possiblesolutionstomicroplasticpollutionmaybereplacingmicroplasticswithnaturalproductslikesugar,boycottingmicroplasticproducts,andbanningmicroplasticproducts.TheU.S.microbeadbanwentintoeffectonJuly1,2017.

CONCLUSIONS

o  Microplasticparticlesandmicrobeadstypicallyrangeinsizefrom5μmto1mmo  Theyareusedinmanybodyandhouseholdcleansingproducts,cosmeticsandeven

toothpaste,andarewasheddowndrainsintowastewatertreatmentplants,wheretheycomeincontactwithawiderangeoforganicpollutantssuchaspolycyclicaromatichydrocarbons(PAHs),polychlorinatedbiphenyls(PCBs)andevenpharmaceuticals

o  Becauseoftheirsmallsize,theyusuallyescapewastewatertreatmentplantfiltrationsystemsandfindtheirwayintoinlandwaterways,estuaries,coastaloceansandeventuallyintotheopenocean

o  19tonsofmicrobeadsarereleasedintoNewYorkeveryyearo  Microplasticsposeathreattoestuarineandmarineresources,eitherdirectlythrough

impactsoninternaltissueorindirectlyviathetoxiccompoundsthatadsorbontothemo  Microplasticdebrishavebeenreportedsincethe1970s,butthesizeofthemicroplastic

particleshavemadethemdifficulttostudy,makingthisstudyfairlynew

•  Microplasticparticlesandmicrobeadsareplasticpolymersthatcanadsorborganicpollutantsfromsewageandescapewastewaterfiltration

•  InpossiblythefirstassessmentofwatersaroundtheNewYorkmetropolitanarea,weobtainedsamplesfrom7siteslocatedprimarilyaroundwastewaterdischargepointsintheHudson,EastandHarlemRivers

•  Wedevelopedprotocolstodetectandquantifymicrobeadsandmicroplasticsandmethodstoassesstheirpotentialtoxicity

•  BasedonFTIRspectroscopyandmicroscopicexamination,weconcludedthatallsiteshadmicroplasticparticles

•  TheNewtownCreeksamplehadthelargestamountofmicroplastics•  Atenolol,apopularbloodpressuredrug,wasdetectedinanextractofthe

microplasticsisolatedfromtheNewtownCreeksample

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

ThankyouverymuchtoDr.JoaquimI.GoesandDr.BeizhanYan.Thisprojectwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouttheirkindmentorshipandsupport.SpecialthankyoutoMashaPitiranggonwhoprovidedsuchpatientmentorshipinthelabandwhoseparticipationwasnecessaryinanalyzingthesamples.AdditionalthankstoYeLi,whohelpedagreatdealincollectingandanalyzingthesamples.ToKaliMcKee,forhermentorshipandsubstantialhelpinprotocoldevelopment.ToDr.HelgadoRosarioGomes,whograciouslyhelpedtoanalyzeandmodelthedata.ToDr.DallasAbbottandDr.MichaelKaplan,fororganizingtheprogramandprovidingconstructivefeedback.TotheEarthInstituteforprovidingfunds.ThankyoualsototheRiverkeeperandRiverkeeperCapt.JohnLipscombforprovidingtheboatandhelpingusgreatlywithfieldsampling

Acknowledgments

DistributionofMicroplasticsintheEstuarineWatersaroundtheNewYorkMetropolitanAreaandAssessmentoftheirRoleasPotentialVectorsofToxicCompounds

ShellyLim¹,2,BeizhanYan1,MashaPitiranggon1,YeLi3,KaliMcKee1,HelgadoRosarioGomes1,JoaquimI.Goes11Lamont-DohertyEarthObservatoryofColumbiaUniversity,2BarnardCollege,3EastChinaNormalUniversity

Figure5:FlowCamdatashowingheavydiatomchain(phytoplankton)growthinNewtownCreek

Figure1a-f:Imagesoffieldsampling,NewtownCreek,125thSt.plant,densityseparationwithseparatoryfunnel,andflowchartofdetectionandorganicmethods

DetectionandQuantification•  Oxidationandstainingmethods

wereappliedtosamples.Aliquotsofthesampleswerefilteredontofiltersformicroscopeviewingandcounting.

•  Duetotimeconstraints,thecountsarejustpartofpreliminarydata.

•  ThedetectionprotocolwasverifiedthroughFTIRspectroscopicanalysiswiththehelpoftheColumbiaUniversityDepartmentofChemistry

1a. 1b.

1c. 1d.

1e.

1f.

1

2

3

45

6

7

1

2

3

45

6

7

1

2

3

45

6

7

1

2

3

45

6

7

2a. 2b. 2c. 2d.

Figure2a–d:Distributionoftotalplastics,plasticfibers,microbeads,andmicroplasticsacrosstheNewYorkestuary

Figures3a-g:Compositionoftotalplasticsperliterandvarioustypesofplasticsdetectedforsamplesites1-7,respectively.

3a. 3b. 3c. 3d.

3e. 3f. 3g.

Figures4a-f:Measurementsoftemperature,salinity,chlorophylla,turbidity,oxygensaturation,andpHatallsamplesites

4a. 4b. 4c.

4d. 4e. 4f.