{"id":42643,"date":"2026-06-16T11:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=42643"},"modified":"2026-06-16T23:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:07:38","slug":"microplastics-are-everywhere-in-pennsylvanias-water-but-the-tide-may-be-turning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/microplastics-are-everywhere-in-pennsylvanias-water-but-the-tide-may-be-turning\/","title":{"rendered":"Microplastics are everywhere in Pennsylvania\u2019s water \u2013 but the tide may be turning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nathaniel Warner<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em>; Lisa Emili<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em>, and Raymond Najjar<\/a>, Penn State<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers have long known that plastic pollution reaches the ocean<\/a>. But how much plastic is trapped, and where, before it reaches the ocean is far less understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As professors of environmental engineering<\/a>, geography and environmental studies<\/a>, and oceanography<\/a> at Penn State, we recently led studies mapping how microplastics move through bodies of water<\/a> across Pennsylvania. What we found was striking: Microplastics are nearly everywhere, their concentration in sediment has been doubling every 20 years, and some of the most common types are among the most toxic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastic is everywhere, including inside us<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1950s, global plastic production has doubled<\/a> about every 20 years. The world now produces over 500 million tons<\/a> annually – roughly the combined weight of every person on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plastics have revolutionized our lives, but more than half of plastic waste ends up in landfills. Nathaniel Warner<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today, more than half of plastic waste<\/a> ends up in landfills, and less than one-tenth is recycled globally. The U.S. generates over 48 million tons of plastic waste<\/a> annually, and approximately 86% is sent to landfills. The domestic recycling rate is roughly 5% to 6%<\/a>, making the U.S. a leading producer of plastic pollution. The rest enters the environment, where it breaks down slowly, potentially over hundreds to thousands of years<\/a>, into microplastics. These particles range in size from 5 millimeters, which is about the size of a pencil eraser, to 1 nanometer – for reference, a single strand of human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Microplastics<\/a> are now found in the air, water, soil, food and living organisms, including humans. Microplastics enter the body through ingestion via what we drink, inhalation and skin contact. Studies have found microplastics accumulating in human blood<\/a>, the brain<\/a> and reproductive systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand how plastics become a health threat, it helps to know how they\u2019re classified in the first place. Plastics are sorted by the resin identification code system<\/a> into seven categories in the U.S., identified by the numbered recycling triangle on the bottom of containers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The resin code system was created to make it easier to identify types of plastic. Oliver Radwell<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mystery of missing plastic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More than 80% of mismanaged plastic waste<\/a> – plastic that\u2019s littered, dumped or otherwise not properly contained – is estimated to be transported by rivers to coastal environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you\u2019ve heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch<\/a>? It\u2019s the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world, located between Hawaii and California. It\u2019s undeniably huge \u2014 but there is still far less plastic in the ocean<\/a> than models predict there should be, given how much is produced and lost to the environment each year. In fact, millions of tons remain unaccounted for. Our team set out to investigate, in part, the mystery of the \u201cmissing plastic paradox<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Researchers are investigating how plastic is redistributed through watersheds. Penn State Institute of Energy and the Environment<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our study focused on Pennsylvania\u2019s Raystown Lake, Conemaugh River Lake and the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum – the beginnings of the Delaware Estuary<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We collected two types of sediment samples and asked three questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n