Plastic pollutes the park
Microplastics are polluting Adirondack streams and lakes once thought unaffected by the emerging environmental threat, according to recent research.
Eroded bits of cast-off water bottles and plastic bags, tiny synthetic fibers shed in laundering, and other manmade refuse contribute to the problem. These pollutants are defined as smaller than 5 millimeters—less than a fifth of an inch in their widest dimension. Many are microscopic.
Other research shows zooplankton eat the tiny but indigestible detritus, harmfully coating their gastrointestinal tracts and putting them into the food chain when they are eaten by larger animals.
“Microplastics are an emerging contaminant in freshwater systems and we are becoming more aware of them daily as new research is published,” said ecologist Danielle Garneau, professor of environmental science at the State University of New York
