Issue 9, 2017

Some problems and practicalities in design and interpretation of samples of microplastic waste

Abstract

Plastic as waste-material is increasingly littering the world's environments. Small particles of plastic – microplastics – are an increasing cause of concern because they can potentially cause a range of environmental problems for organisms and for the assemblages in which they live. Particles are a potential source of impacts in their own right, or as carriers of toxins that can then become absorbed into animals or plants. As a result, there has been increasing publication of programmes of sampling to quantify microplastics, to identify what types are where and to consider the extent to which they are causing impacts. Some of the sampling is to consider large-scale patterns. Some is to gather information about temporal trends. Regardless of the objectives, much of the sampling is not adequate to provide robust data to allow comparative assessments, examine trends or, in some cases, even to be sure about the quantities of plastic being encountered. The problems in such sampling programmes have been widely discussed in the ecological literature. Here, we attempt to identify some of the major problems and their causes and to promote thinking about the available solutions, in terms of improved sampling designs. This is done in the hope that more thought about the pitfalls will lead to more seeking of advice from statisticians and those who are expert in sampling, so that better information will become available in the future.

Graphical abstract: Some problems and practicalities in design and interpretation of samples of microplastic waste

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
22 ستمبر 2016
Accepted
26 نومبر 2016
First published
28 نومبر 2016

Anal. Methods, 2017,9, 1332-1345

Some problems and practicalities in design and interpretation of samples of microplastic waste

A. J. Underwood, M. G. Chapman and M. A. Browne, Anal. Methods, 2017, 9, 1332 DOI: 10.1039/C6AY02641A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements