Abstract
Microplastics are classified as any plastic particle less than 5 millimeters in diameter. They are ubiquitous throughout the environment and, subsequently, in the food and water we consume. The impacts of microplastics on organisms is an emerging research topic, however, most research suggests that the impacts of microplastic ingestion are likely negative. All forms of drinking water have been found to be contaminated with microplastics, including municipal, well, and bottled water. There are several different factors that could be contributing to variations in microplastic contamination across those drinking water sources, such as the bottling process for bottled water or the distance travel through plastic piping for municipal water. However, there have been no studies in this region evaluating microplastic contamination from several different municipal water sources. To address this question, we collected 5 replicate water samples from 15 different cities throughout coastal Mississippi. Each sample was collected in a 1L glass jar from the city hall in each respective city and immediately capped to prevent further contamination. The samples were then filtered through a 0.45um filter, stored in a closed petri dish, and then evaluated for microplastics under 40x magnification. Each microplastic was counted and categorized as either a fiber, film, fragment, or bead. Every sample taken had a significant level of microplastic contamination (>13 pieces per L) with fibers accounting for 94% of all microplastics. There was also a general trend where samples from cities in the western portion of coastal Mississippi had the most microplastics, followed by the eastern, and central portions. Future studies are needed, but research like this could help identify sources of microplastics and the water treatment practices that prevent them.
