As you read in yesterday’s blog post, IISG’s Laura Kammin and Anjanette Riley are taking part in a research trip on Lake Michigan this weekend investigating the presence and concentration of microplastic pollution in the Great Lakes.

The Chicago Tribune has more details about the research: 

“Calling the lake ‘its own separate little beast,’ Mason said she expects to find high levels of microplastics in Lake Michigan because it borders so many large cities and because water molecules are estimated to swirl around the lake for about 99 years on average before being replaced by water flowing in. Water stays longer only in Lake Superior, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 

On Friday the researchers boarded the Niagara at St. Ignace, Mich., and sailed from Lake Huron into Lake Michigan. After a stop in Milwaukee, the ship is scheduled to arrive in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon. Along the way, researchers planned to collect almost 30 samples.

 

One scientist who sailed on last summer’s research trip is back in her lab, studying the chemicals that may be piggybacking on the microplastics gathered from Superior, Huron and Erie.

 

The particles ‘work like a sponge’ for pollutants, said Lorena Rios Mendoza, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin at Superior. One reason is that microplastics have a large surface area in relation to their size, which means there are plenty of places for the chemicals to stick.”

Recent research has shown that pharmaceuticals and personal care products can cause significant problems for waterways, affecting not only water quality but also negatively impacting the processes that plants and animals need to survive and thrive.

One way that those products are causing pollution in the Great Lakes may not just be due to the chemicals they are made from, though.

From Scientific American:

“Rather, small plastic beads, known as micro plastic, are the offenders, according to survey results to be published this summer in Marine Pollution Bulletin. ‘The highest counts were in the micro plastic category, less than a millimeter in diameter,’ explained chemist Sherri ‘Sam’ Mason of the State University of New York at Fredonia, who led the Great Lakes plastic pollution survey last July. ‘Under the scanning electron microscope, many of the particles we found were perfectly spherical plastic balls.’

 

Cosmetics manufacturers use these micro beads, or micro exfoliates, as abrasives in facial and body scrubs. They are too tiny for water treatment plants to filter, so they wash down the drain and into the Great Lakes. The biggest worry: fish such as yellow perch or turtles and seagulls think of them as dinner. If fish or birds eat the inert beads, the material can deprive them of nutrients from real food or get lodged in their stomachs or intestines, blocking digestive systems.”

Phosphorous is a nutrient that has been linked to significant runoff problems and excessive algal growth in water bodies including the Great Lakes. Recently, Scotts Miracle-Gro announced that they will be removing phosphorous from their line of lawn fertilizers to address the issue and help reduce nutrient pollution problems. 

From The Columbus Dispatch: 

“The Marysville maker of lawn-and-garden products sees the move as a milestone for its industry, which it says is partly responsible for the phosphorus runoff that feeds one of the nation’s most costly and challenging environmental problems — nutrient pollution.

 

‘As consumers feed their lawns this spring, they should know they can get great results from our products while also protecting and preserving our water resources,’ said Jim Lyski, Scotts’ chief marketing officer, in a written statement.

 

The Pacific Ocean is the location of a very large collection of marine debris and waste nearly twice the size of the state of Texas. Dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” it is comprised of plastic and other materials that can be detrimental to animals and the environment. 

There is growing concern and evidence that the Great Lakes may be home to their own, similar garbage patches. 

From U.S. News & World Report: 

“Researchers say the Great Lakes are becoming polluted with the same plastic particles that have created the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—an area of trash in the Pacific Ocean that’s twice the size of Texas.

 

Researchers say that Lake Erie has up to 1.7 million tiny plastic particles per square mile, which is a greater density than some parts of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. By definition, these so-called ‘microplastics’ have a diameter of less than 5 millimeters and are generally tough to see in the water.”

Studies continue to show the presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals and other personal care products in waterways throughout the country. And improperly disposed-of medicines have been shown to have numerous detrimental effects on plants, animals, and environmental processes. 

A forthcoming paper in Ecological Applications confirms the presence of pharmaceuticals in rivers throughout the U.S. 

From Nature World News: 

“As it turns out, the antihistamine diphenhydramine – used in treating allergic symptoms as well as motion sickness, insomnia and a cold – decreased a biofilm’s photosynthesis by 99 percent in addition to drops in respiration. And it didn’t stop there. The chemical compound actually caused a change in present bacterial species, including a reduction of a group that digests compounds produced by plants and algae.

Nor was it the only one tested to render similar results; in fact, all the pharmaceuticals involved in the study had a measurable and negative impact on biofilm respiration.”

Read the complete article at the link above, and find more information about the study at our UnwantedMeds.org site.