Microplastics Sampling with Sail & Explore – San Francisco Bay

Every year approximately 400 million tons of plastic waste are being produced which can then end up in the environment, where they become brittle and break down into micro- and nanoplastic particles. Exact numbers on the prevalence of smaller-sized microplastics (below 0.3 mm) and their potential impact on the environment and human health are missing. When plastics are taken up by marine and aquatic organisms, this can lead to their malnutrition, inflammation, reduced fertility, and mortality. Microplastics are well-known to travel up the food chain, where submicron-sized plastic particles (< 0.3mm) can accumulate in a greater number of species; moreover, lab research has shown that submicron-sized plastics can be taken up passively by cells in human tissue and transported throughout the human body. Up to now, there is only very sparse knowledge on the occurrence and cumulative effects of submicron-sized plastics in the environment, on marine life, and specifically how they may affect human health.