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Seas are awash with microplastics
Summary
This Perspective article discusses the growing problem of microplastics in the ocean, noting that marine currents make pollution trends difficult to track and that we may never be able to remove microplastics already dispersed in the environment. The authors argue for better understanding of ecological effects to guide mitigation of this widespread and persistent pollutant.
Marine Pollution Plastics litter beaches and the open ocean. Scientists are increasingly concerned about a less visible form of plastic pollution: microplastics. Microplastics arise from the deterioration of larger plastic items and from microbeads used in cosmetics. In their Perspective, Law and Thompson explain that because marine currents distribute the pollutants in unpredictable ways, trends in microplastic pollution are difficult to measure. Microplastics can contain harmful chemicals and may also release toxic additives used in their manufacture. They are ingested by and can poison many marine organisms. We are currently unable, and may never be able, to remove microplastics from the oceans. We thus need to understand the environmental effects of this major pollutant in the hope of mitigating its worst effects. Science , this issue p. [144][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/345/144?iss=6193