plastic, knownas microbeads andmicrofibers, areemerging...
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Check out these websitesto learn more:
http://seagrant.psu.edu/topics/water-qualitywww.fredonia.edu/chemistry/Faculty/
Mason.aspwww.beatthemicrobead.org/en/product-listshttps://ag.ny.gov/pdfs/Microbeads_
Report_5_14_14.pdf
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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Jeanette Schnars
Grace Abele, left, and Madalyn Wagner document trashfor their group’s cleanup of a Presque Isle beach.
The Lego League andthe Community ProblemSolving Team from Iro-quoisSchooljoinedtopar-ticipate in an Internation-al Coastal Cleanup on thebeaches of Presque IsleState Park. Both groups ofstudents are researchingtheissueofplasticgrocerybags and the impacts theyhave on our environment,especially as marine de-bris. “The cleanup was agood experience becausewe were able to witnessthe problem with all thedebris on the beaches,”said participating studentMarisa Schnars.
Student learned thatover 1 trillion plastic bagsare used annually but lessthan 5 percent are recy-cled. Because Americansthrow away 1 billion bagseach year, students aredeveloping solutions byimplementing a grocerybag recycling programat their school. They also
hope to work with localbusinesses to improvemarketing of the reusablebag and create incentivesforshoppersthatusethemtoreducetheiruseofplas-tic bags (“say no to plasticbags”). The Iroquois LegoLeague team will presentitsprojectattheFirstLegoLeague Robotics competi-tionatPennStateBehrendthisSaturday.TheCommu-nityProblemSolvingTeamwill be competing with itsproject in March 2016. Theinternational competitionoccurs in Lansing, Mich.,in June.
For more informationon Community ProblemSolving, visit www.fpspi.org/cmps.html; for infor-mationontheLegoLeague,visit www.firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/TRASH-TREK/TRASH-TREK-Challenge.pdf.
— Anna McCartney
Iroquois students say‘no’ to plastic bags
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Research by Sherri “Sam” Mason, a SUNY Fredonia chemistry professor, and other scientists are showing tiny bits ofplastic, known as microbeads and microfibers, are emerging as one of the more troubling forms of pollution in theGreat Lakes, especially Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Municipal wastewaterplants and septic systemswere not engineered toremove harmful syntheticwaste. They were de-signed to treat biodegrad-ablebodilywasteandfoodwaste.
But today human activi-ties regularly introducea wide range of syntheticcontaminants into waste-water, including plasticmicrobeads, plastic fibersfrom clothing, chemicalsin pharmaceuticals andpersonal care products(PPCPs) and others.
Tons of this non-bio-degradable material isbeing flushed down thedrain, polluting the GreatLakesandwaterresourcesaround the globe. Thesepollutants end up in sur-face, ground and drinkingwaterwheneitherrawsew-age or the effluent (treatedwastewater) is released.And since many of themremainintheenvironment,these contaminants canhaveseriousconsequencesfor fish and other aquaticlife and humans.
Included in this wasteare:▀Microplastic particles,
includingbeads,fibersandfragments.Microbeadsarebecomingpervasiveduetotheiruseinabout100typesof personal care products.Researcher Sam MasonfromtheStateUniversityofNew York at Fredonia andher team have identifiedmicrobeadsinallfiveGreatLakesandhavefoundthemin the effluent sampledfrom 33 treatment plantsacross New York state andone in North East. Masonhas also found syntheticfibers from garments, andother products that havereplaced cotton and wool.Your favorite fleece canshed thousands of fiberswith every washing. Whenlaundered,microscopicfil-aments,whicharemadeofpetroleum-basedmaterialssuch as polyester and ny-lon, break off and go downthe drain.▀PPCPs are a diverse
group of chemicals con-tained in human and vet-erinary drugs; dietary sup-plements; and other con-sumer products includingfragrances, antibacterialsoaps, cosmetics and sun-screens,laundryandclean-ingproducts.Thesechemi-
cals are washed down thedrain or are flushed downthe toilet. (The excretionof drugs not absorbed byour bodies contributesthe largest source of phar-maceuticals in householdwastewater.)▀Other chemicals such
as organophosphateflame-retardants, and per-fluorinated compounds instain-resistant or nonstickproducts, including cloth-ing and cookware.
The traditional methodsof wastewater manage-menthavenotsignificantlychanged in response andneitherhasthelegislation.The Clean Water Act hasnot been amended in 28years and does not havelimits on these pollutants.Water regulations are es-tablished after extensivescientific studies demon-strate the health effectsand the levels that may beharmful.
But due to lack of re-search funding and be-cause anticipating the ef-fects of low-level exposureto these chemicals andplastics is difficult, muchof this information is ab-sent. For example, expo-sures that occur at sensi-tive developmental stages(infetusesandinfants)mayhave greater effects thanexposuresduringotherlifestages, but chemical safetytests are usually done onadult animals. Further-more, while people are ex-posedtocomplexmixturesof chemicals, most studiesfocus on one chemical ata time, so we have limitedknowledgeof thepotentialhealth effects of mixturesof these chemicals at lowlevels.
However there is grow-ing evidence that thesechemicals are affectingaquatic life, particularlyfish, by affecting their re-production and develop-ment. Microplastics arealso getting into the foodchain when they are mis-takenly ingested. Thesecan act like sponges andadsorb toxic chemicals ontheir surface, promptingfurther concern.
Knowing this, shouldn’twe keep these pollutantsout of our waste?
A N N A M c C A R T N E Y , acommunications andeducation specialist forPennsylvania Sea Grant,can be reached by e-mail [email protected].
Information, pleaseWe need research on synthetic materials and aquatic lifeBy ANNA McCARTNEYContributing writer
CAWRECYCLES.ORG
While some states have passed microbead bans, theCalifornia ban avoids any loopholes that would allowpotentially harmful substitutes. Start your own ban today.Refuse microbeads: www.beatthemicrobead.org.
RACHEL RICOTTA/AP
Microscopic plastic fibers from inside the body of a GreatLakes fish raise new alarms about fibers shed from yourfleece and other synthetics when laundered but too smallto be removed from wastewater.
CREDIT 5 GYRES
Microbeads — bits of plastic in personal-care products —are washing into the Great Lakes and present anenvironmental hazard to fish and other wildlife that ingestthem because they absorb toxic pollutants.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ Gina Longstreet
Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems can’tremove endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) fromPPCPs, which can harm wildlife and pose threats tohumans, especially unborn babies and young children.
Microplastics and chemicals inpharmaceuticals and personal care products thatcannot be removed by wastewater treatment areincreasingly building up in rivers, lakes and otherwater sources. Learn more about these pollutantsby visiting today’s Web sites.
Write a letter for “your space” encouragingyour fellow students, parents and the communityto refuse products made with disposable plasticand unnecessary chemicals to keepthem out of the environment. Usefacts to support your letter. E-mail itwith your photo to [email protected].
NYTIMES
A video at https://youtu.be/DqCEGVowbog shows the dirtytruth about the problems caused by the increase in wetwipes, which are not biodegradable.
Wastewater treatmentplants are confronting an-other synthetic menacethat iscloggingthegearsofplumbingnetworksaroundtheworld:thecommonwetwipe. Aggressive market-ing to adults has made thewipes, long used for babycare, even more popular.Market research, cited ina Bloomberg News articlelast year, suggested thatfrom 2008 to 2013, sales ofthe moist wipes grew 23percent to $367 million.
But unlike toilet paper,wipes are not biodegrad-able. Instead of breakingdown, they are costing cit-iesmillionsonrepairsanddisposal.NewYorkCityhasspent more than $18 mil-lion in the past five yearsonwipe-relatedequipmentproblems, officials said.Since 2008, the volume ofmaterials extracted fromscreening machines at thecity’s wastewater treat-ment plants has more thandoubled, an increase duemainly to the wipes.
City officials there aretackling the problem byintroducing a City Councilbill, with the backing ofMayorBilldeBlasio,topro-
hibit advertising syntheticmoist wipes as flushable.Its environmental depart-ment also launched a pub-lic awareness campaignon proper wipe disposal:throwingtheminthetrash.
Rethink what you flushwherever you live. The toi-let is not a trash can. Evenproducts labeled “flush-able” can clog your pipesandsewagepumpstations,damage equipment andcausesewageoverflows.Sotheyshouldnotgodownthedrain because they don’tmagically disintegrate; in-stead,theyaresimplyshuf-fled off somewhere else,where they wreak havoc.The wipes also wash up onbeaches around the world,and when they make theirway into the ocean, seacreaturesliketurtlesingestthem and eventually die.
Flush only toilet paperandhumanwasteinthetoi-let. Refuse non-biodegrad-able products, but if youmust use them, dispose oftheminyourregulartrash.These include wet wipes,bandages, makeup pads,kitty litter, sanitary prod-ucts, etc.
— Anna McCartney
Don’t flush wipesdown your toilet
6D | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | Tuesday, December 8, 2015