Due to the wide range of use and high durability of synthetic organic polymers, plastic debris is found worldwide. A relatively large amount of microplastics are contaminating sea salts that are consumed by humans across the globe. Offshore plastic accumulations are increasing because plastic is entering the ocean faster than it is degrading. Photodegradable plastic particles persist in the ocean, fragmenting into smaller particles upon UV-radiation and abrasion. Sea salts are vulnerable to microplastic contamination because they are directly obtained from the dehydration of microplastic contaminated sea water. Following a similar procedure used by Chinese and Spanish sea salt studies, the isolation of microplastics from five brands of Pacific sea salts will be carried out by dissolution, hydrogen peroxide treatment, centrifugation, and vacuum filtration. The isolated microplastics will then be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using FT-IR spectroscopy and optical microscopy. Microplastic content is expected to average approximately 600 microplastics/kg. The most prevalent type of microplastic particles are expected to be polyethylene terephthalate (PET) because it is the most widely produced plastic and was the most prevalent microplastic found in similar studies.<br/>

Investigation of microplastic contamination of Pacific sea salts

2019 Spring National Meeting

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