Current and Historic Levels of Persistent (PAHs, PCBs) and Emerging Pollutant (Nano- microplastics or NMPs) Body-Burdens in Oysters and Fish from an Urban-Industrialized Subtropical Estuary (Galveston Bay, TX, USA)

Summary

Scientists tested oysters and fish from Galveston Bay, a heavily industrialized waterway near Houston, for both old-school pollutants (like chemicals from oil and industrial waste) and newer contaminants like tiny plastic particles called nano- and microplastics. Since people eat seafood from bays like this one, understanding what's building up in these creatures over time helps us gauge whether our seafood, and the water it comes from, is getting cleaner or dirtier, and what that means for our own exposure to these pollutants.