An April 4, 2019 workshop at SCCWRP to discuss a path toward standardizing methods for measuring microplastics in the environment
Measuring Microplastics: Building Best Practices for Sampling, Extraction and Analysis
Hosted by: HORIBA Inc., SCCWRP and the University of Toronto
In coordination with the State of California Water Resources Control Board and the California Ocean Protection Council
Materials for the April 4, 2019 Workshop
- Video Recordings: Introductory Presentations
- California Ocean Protection Council perspective (Deborah Halberstadt) PowerPoint
- State Water Resources Control Board perspective (Darrin Polhemus)
- Microplastics overview and aspects related to human health for consideration (Bob Andrews) PowerPoint
- Microplastics overview and aspects related to human health for consideration (Chelsea Rochman) PowerPoint
- Video Recordings: Methods Presentations
- Methods for sampling microplastics (Paul Helm) PowerPoint
- Extracting microplastics from different environmental matrices (Amy Lusher) PowerPoint
- Techniques for identifying and quantifying microplastics prior to, or in lieu of, spectroscopy (Keenan Munno) PowerPoint
- FTIR in microplastics research (Sebastian Primpke) PowerPoint
- Microplastics quest using pryolysis GC-MS (Ashok Deshpande) PowerPoint
- Raman spectroscopy in correlative microscopy/spectroscopy workflows (Silke Christiansen) PowerPoint
- Development and automation of Raman microspectroscopy (Marco Pittroff) PowerPoint
- QA/QC for microplastics sampling, analysis and reporting (Chelsea Rochman) PowerPoint
- Planned European method evaluation study (Amy Lusher) PowerPoint
- Video Recordings: Example California Data Collection Programs
- San Francisco Bay (Carolynn Box) PowerPoint
- Wastewater effluent (Steve Carr) PowerPoint
- USEPA Region 9 (Anna-Marie Cook) PowerPoint
Background
Microplastics are increasingly being recognized as pervasive in the environment, including the water column, sediments, animal tissue and even drinking water. That pervasiveness has led to product bans for small plastics, such as microbeads used in cosmetic products, to larger plastic items that can degrade into microplastics, such as bags and straws. In addition, there are new and planned requirements to monitor microplastics in the environment and in drinking water.
Implementing monitoring programs requires reliable standardized methods and best practice guidelines. Such methods enable comparison of studies among regions, and the ability to compare quantification among sources. Although people have been quantifying and characterizing microplastics in samples for more than a decade, standard field and laboratory methods, or the reference materials necessary for quality assurance, do not yet exist.
This workshop will bring together microplastics experts from around the world to explore a path toward method standardization. The workshop will be conducted in collaboration with the State of California Water Resources Control Board and the California Ocean Protection Council, which have legislative mandates to develop standardized microplastics monitoring methods for both ocean and drinking waters.
Workshop Objectives
- Facilitate a conversation among the management community, stakeholders and microplastics experts to enhances understanding of policy-makers needs regarding microplastics method standardization.
- Agree on state of the science regarding sampling, extraction and analysis methods.
- Identify the research necessary to reach shared goals, including design of studies necessary to develop standardized methods for microplastics analysis.