We reach the point in our chemical history when microplastics were first recognized as a pervasive environmental pollutant. Visible plastic bits were first found by Edward Carpenter and K.L. Smith in the ocean back in 1972, and such detritus was confirmed all over the world's oceans over the next decades, resulting in the name "Eastern Garbage Patch" by 1997. Yet only in 2004 did Richard Thompson first study microscopic bits of plastic. In this episode we define a microplastic, and discuss various sources for microplastics. We talk of potential harm they do.
We reach the point in our chemical history when microplastics were first recognized as a pervasive environmental pollutant. Visible plastic bits were first found by Edward Carpenter and K.L. Smith in the ocean back in 1972, and such detritus was confirmed all over the world's oceans over the next decades, resulting in the name "Eastern Garbage Patch" by 1997. Yet only in 2004 did Richard Thompson first study microscopic bits of plastic. In this episode we define a microplastic, and discuss various sources for microplastics. We talk of potential harm they do.