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English
Publikasjoner

Monitoring of microplastic pollution in the Arctic: recent developments in polymer identification, quality assurance and control, and data reporting

Vitenskapelig artikkel
Publiseringsår
2022
Tidsskrift
Arctic Science
Eksterne nettsted
Cristin
Arkiv
Doi
NIVA-involverte
Amy Lusher
Forfattere
Sebastian Primpke, Andy Booth, Gunnar Gerdts, Alessio Gomiero, Tanja Kögel, Amy Lusher, Jakob Strand, Barbara Scholz-Böttcher, Francois Galgani, Jennifer F Provencher, Stefano Aliani, Shreyas Patankar, Katrin Vorkamp

Sammendrag

The pollution of the environment with plastics is of growing concern worldwide, including the Arctic region. While larger plastic pieces are a visible pollution issue, smaller microplastics are not visible with the naked eye. These particles are available for interaction by Arctic biota and have become a concern for animal and human health. The determination of microplastic properties includes several methodological steps, i.e. sampling, extraction, quantification and chemical identification. This review discusses suitable analytical tools for the identification, quantification and characterization of microplastics in the context of monitoring in the Arctic. It further addresses quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) which is particularly important for the determination of microplastic in the Arctic, as both contamination and analyte losses can occur. It presents specific QA/QC measures for sampling procedures and for the handling of samples in the laboratory, either on land or on ship, and considering the small size of microplastics as well as the high risk of contamination. The review depicts which data should be mandatory to report, thereby supporting a framework for harmonized data reporting.