We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Investigating the Quantity & Composition of “Nurdles” at Micro & Macro Levels
Summary
Researchers used community science data and targeted field sampling to quantify plastic pre-production pellets (nurdles) in freshwater rivers, finding them present but underreported compared to coastal environments and calling for broader freshwater monitoring to close the gap in continental-scale plastic pollution assessments.
Plastic pollution is a pressing global concern. Plastic pre-production pellets, or “nurdles” are widespread in the environment, but not yet well documented in rivers. In particular, nurdles are well documented along coastlines; additional efforts are needed to report the presence and concentration of these pollutants in freshwater habitats to fully understand the scope of the problem. This project had 2 objectives: 1) use community science (i.e., volunteer-generated) data to quantify nurdle abundance in rivers at a continental scale, and 2) measure the magnitude of the distribution of nurdles in a single tributary of the Chicago River.