University of Windsor, partners receive funding to fight microplastics

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A team of scientists headed by a University of Windsor researcher has received $1 million in funding to fight microplastics pollution.

A key to the research, aimed at developing new tools to test, analyze and track the pollutant in Ontario, will be determining where it all comes from.

“Canadian and international concern is mounting regarding risks associated with microplastic ubiquity, accumulation, and potential for ingestion — particularly now that they are being found in such remote environments, so far from any obvious sources,” said project coordinator Jill Crossman, a professor in the University of Windsor’s School of the Environment. “To get a clear picture of where microplastics end up, we will be tracking and testing what proportion of microplastics are found in the atmosphere, in watersheds, and in soil in remote, rural, and urban areas across Ontario.”

Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastics with a virtually endless list of possible sources, from industrial operations and fishing nets to beauty products and water bottles.

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The team has received nearly $1 million through the Plastics Science for a Cleaner Future program. The program is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

To help curtail the international pollution crisis, Crossman said researchers must solve the mystery of where microplastics originate and how they travel.

“There are severe knowledge gaps limiting our ability to track plastics already in the environment and these gaps remain a key roadblock to efficient policy implementation,” she said.

The team will visit industrial, agricultural and urban sites throughout the year to identify the sources and pathways.

The University of Windsor members on the project include Crossman, Scott Mundle, Bulent Mutus, James Gauld and Simon Rondeau-Gagné.

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The team also has researchers from the University of Toronto, Trent University, Western University, Wilson Analytical, Environment Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of Environment and the Toronto Region Conservation Authority.

With federal and municipal stakeholders on board, knowledge gained from the program can be applied to support microplastics mitigation policies across Canada, the University of Windsor said.

Mutus, Rondeau-Gagné and Gauld, from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will develop new tools for high-resolution sample analysis. Mutus will also lead the development of new real-time sensors.

Mundle, a professor in the School of the Environment and researcher with the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, is working to develop new ways of finding the source of pollutants using mass spectrometry. It’s process of vaporizing a sample to analyze its molecular composition.

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The technique will help researchers find unique signatures for the chemicals according to their source, which are identifiable as they move through the environment. This will provide a “fingerprint” for the plastics, allowing the team to determine where the plastics came from and how they were transported.

The study also includes creation of an open access data portal to aid in future research.

“The field of microplastics analysis is relatively new, so in addition to a lack of data, there is a lack of consistent approaches to analysis, which up until now has limited our ability to compare findings between studies,” said Crossman. “This program addresses these gaps.”

twilhelm@postmedia.com