New research: Not such small things – microplastics in our streams
UC Riverside scientists are taking a modern approach to studying a murky subject — the quantity, quality, and sources of microplastics in Los Angeles County’s urban streams. Microplastics are particles with a maximum diameter of 5 millimeters, roughly the size of a pencil eraser. The category can include nanoplastics, which are far smaller than the width of an average human hair. Scientists have been aware that these particles have been filtering through the environment for decades, but concern about them has only started to ramp up more recently.