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Microplastics Contaminate All 15 Tested Chesapeake Watershed Sites, Report Finds
A new report from the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center found microplastic contamination at every one of 15 sampling sites across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, from the Susquehanna to the Patapsco. Advocates are pushing for producer responsibility and bottle return laws to cut plastic pollution at the source.
Microplastic contamination was present at all 15 sampling sites across the Chesapeake Bay watershed, according to a report released this month by the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center. Researchers collected 90 water samples from waterways including the Susquehanna and Patapsco rivers and the bay itself, and every site tested positive for plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters.
"Every single one of them was found to have microplastic contamination," said Nina Harbison, who represents the Maryland Public Interest Research Group.
The breakdown was striking: clothing microfibers appeared at 100 percent of sites, microfragments at 93 percent, microfilm at 47 percent and microbeads at 27 percent. The findings, while alarming, did not shock environmental advocates who have long tracked plastic pollution in the region.
"Unlike an apple or a piece of paper that will decompose organically over time, plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic," Harbison said. "The Chesapeake Bay watershed provides drinking water to millions of people, about 13 million in total, including many here in Baltimore."
Because the particles are so small, they slip past last-line litter defenses such as Baltimore's trash wheels, which are part of the Healthy Harbor initiative. Wildlife can easily ingest them, allowing plastics to move up the food chain, and the particles have been linked to negative health consequences.
Still, advocates found a measure of hope in the data. Alice Volpitta of Blue Water Baltimore noted that no microbeads were detected in the Patapsco River during the study. Maryland banned plastic microbeads in 2020.
"It's tough to draw conclusions from a single sample, but these results give us reason to be hopeful that common-sense legislation that cuts off plastic pollution at the source can have real impacts on our streams and rivers," Volpitta said.
Environmental groups are now pressing for policy changes aimed at reducing plastic waste before it reaches waterways. They are advocating for producer responsibility laws, which would shift the burden of waste management onto companies, as well as a bottle return law. The bottle bill has been introduced three times in Maryland.
Kelly Doordan of Trash Free Maryland said the coalition is confident the fourth attempt will succeed.
"We've made a lot of progress on the bottle bill, and we've over the last few years made amendments and really improved the bill," Doordan said.
Advocates hope such measures can be enacted in time to protect the watershed that supplies drinking water to millions and to move toward a plastic-free future.