New Microplastic Fact Sheet puts Bay study findings in context
Dec 8, 2015
The same week that the U.S. House of Representatives passes a bill to ban microbeads in cosmetic products, the Bay's Regional Monitoring Program releases a fact sheet that describes our recent study on microbeads and other microplastic particles in Bay water and treated wastewater.
The RMP study found that microplastic pollution was widespread in Bay waters. The tiny plastic particles that pollute the Bay include microbeads used as abrasive ingredients in beauty products, fibers shed from clothing made from synthetic fabrics when they are washed, and minute fragments derived from the breakdown of larger plastic litter. Levels of microplastic pollution appear to be higher than observed within other major urbanized water bodies, such as the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Microplastic pollution was also detected in treated wastewater discharged to the Bay. These findings were presented at the State of the Estuary Conference, and made headlines in leading newspapers.
The new RMP fact sheet provides detailed findings of our investigation and offers consumer tips for reducing plastic pollution.
Earlier this week, the House passed H.R. 1321, the Microbead-Free Waters Act. If the bill were passed by the Senate and signed into law, it would ban the use of microbeads in rinse-off personal care products beginning in 2017. As currently written, this bill would preempt state bans on microbeads, including California's new, strictest-in-the-nation ban, which Governor Brown signed into law in October.
Associated Staff:
Programs and Focus Areas:
Clean Water Program
Bay Regional Monitoring Program
Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Related Projects, News, and Events:
Microplastic Pollution (Project)
The RMP has conducted initial studies of microplastic pollution in San Francisco Bay. Findings from a 2015 screening-level RMP study of microplastic pollution in our Bay show widespread contamination at levels greater than other U.S. water bodies with high levels of urban development, the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Wildlife consume microplastic particles; ingestion can lead to physical harm, and can expose aquatic organisms to pollutants like PCBs that the plastics have absorbed from the surrounding environment.
Microplastics study led by Rebecca Sutton is featured in a news story (News)
Rebecca Sutton, senior scientist at SFEI, describes the hazards presented by microplastics in the Bay's waters. "Plastic pollution: Billions of pieces of tiny plastic litter found in San Francisco Bay," a news article by Paul Rogers reports on findings in a recently published study for which Rebecca Sutton serves as lead author. What the researchers discovered, the high degree of plastic contamination, surprised them.
Plastic microbeads are in the news, and SFEI is providing the science (News)
In the wake of the passage of the microbead ban, KQED released a story about it's potential hazards. As a science resource, Dr. Rebecca Sutton lent her expertise: "'Municipal wastewater systems were designed for our [bodily] waste and food waste, but they’re not engineered to handle tiny bits of plastics,' said Rebecca Sutton of the San Francisco Estuary institute. Upgrading waste treatment facilities to handle microbead waste would cost billions, and it wouldn’t necessarily be effective."
SFEI science informs state policy on microplastic pollution (News)
Last week, the Governor signed AB 888, a bill that bans microplastic beads in personal care products. Companies have until 2020 to phase out the use of these "microbeads." California now has strongest state law in the nation on this issue.
SFEI science played a key role in informing policymakers about microbeads and microplastic pollution. Media stories on a Regional Monitoring Program study of microplastics in San Francisco Bay water and treated wastewater broadcast the latest findings to a wide audience. The study indicated that our Bay had higher levels of microplastic pollution than the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Clearly identifiable microbeads derived from personal care products were detected at all nine sites examined in San Francisco Bay.
Statewide Plastics Monitoring Strategy: Community Engagement (Project)
If you are a community member interested in plastics and California's environment, then this page is for you. We invite you to peruse the information shared below as well as information on the primary project page. What follows is a description of the opportunities, as a community member, to engage in the development of a statewide plastics monitoring plan.
Contaminants of Emerging Concern Strategy (Project)
More than 100,000 chemicals have been registered or approved for commercial use in the US. For many of these chemicals, major information gaps limit evaluations of their potential risks, and environmental monitoring of these chemicals has not been required by regulatory agencies. Nevertheless, researchers and government agencies have begun to collect occurrence, fate, and toxicity data for a number of these chemicals.
These scientists want you to rethink how you use plastics: SFEI and 5 Gyres issue a new video (News)
The short (3-min) video summarizes the goals of the SF Bay Microplastics Project, which aims to better understanding the distribution of microplastic in San Francisco Bay and adjacent National Marine Sanctuaries, the pathways by which these contaminants enter the Bay, and possible means of controlling their release. 5 Gyres and San Francisco Estuary Institute are collaboratively carrying out the project.
New Microplastic Pollution Study to Launch in San Francisco Bay and Adjacent Ocean Waters (News)
A two-year investigation on microplastic and nanoplastic pollution in San Francisco Bay and the surrounding ocean will launch this month, led by two research centers, the San Francisco Estuary Institute and the 5 Gyres Institute.
Estuary News features RMP study on microplastic pollution (News)
December's issue of Estuary News features an article, "Unhealthy Fiber in Bay Diet," that highlights the surprising result of a preliminary study of Bay microplastic pollution, which suggested that San Francisco Bay has higher levels of microplastic than other major urban waterbodies in the US for which data are available. Using nets and sieves designed to capture very small particles, scientists with the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality in San Francisco Bay filtered samples of Bay surface water and wastewater treatment plant effluent.
KPIX and KNTV Television interview Rebecca Sutton about microplastic contamination in the Bay (News)
With separate news crews, KPIX and KNTV followed up on the San Jose Mercury and Contra Costa Times stories by Paul Rogers regarding the surprising findings revealed by a new study. Led by SFEI's Rebecca Sutton, the study on microplastics uncovers the widespread extent and high level of microplastic contamination in the S.F. Bay. Microbeads -- the small synthetic granules found in cosmetics, soaps, and even toothpaste -- form the primary focus of the study. The study's early results have prompted concern from the public regarding the potential impacts to human health and the cumulative impacts to our S.F. Bay ecosystem.