NYS Receptor Survey:
Collaboration with the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Program (HREP) to Quantify Microplastics in Hudson River Tributaries, with Comparison to Citizen Science Measurements:
Figure 1: (left) Water samples collected from the Hudson River Estuary Watershed at sent to UB and (right) wet peroxide oxidation to remove organic content.
Surveying Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) in the Hudson River Estuary Watershed:
Figure 2: Water Sample from Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Hudson River Estuary Watershed
Figure 3: Vacuum Filtration
Source Investigation:
Globally, 4.5 trillion cigarette butts (CB) are littered, making them the most common litter item worldwide, including in the US. Most of these CBs include more than 10,000 cellulose acetate microfibers in the cigarette’s filter (Figure 4), but this source of microplastic pollution has not been previously investigated. Our objective is to understand the release rate of microplastics from CBs in the natural environment. Exact methods are still being developed, but work will center on variability in release rate associated with cigarette brand, sunlight exposure, removal of paper wraps, and more.
Figure 4: Littered CB in the environment