Microplastics in Ellis County, Kansas: The Saline River and Big Creek

Abstract

As the production of synthetic plastic products continues to increase, microplastic contamination in our water bodies will also increase (Li et al 2018 Public awareness of microplastics in our water has been steadily increasing over the past several years It is important for us to be aware of microplastic contamination, especially as the risks to wildlife and human health are poorly understood Pereao et al 2020 Recent studies focus on finding effective ways to estimate and share results of microplastic contamination In order to gain a broad understanding of microplastics and how they could be affecting the water bodies in our local area, water samples were collected from Big Creek and the Saline River These water samples were examined for microplastics with the aid of a microscope and a UV A light This May, we will be traveling to Ireland where we will repeat this experiment on the Camcor River