Session: General Posters:

Microplastics are any synthetic solid particle or polymeric matrix of plastic origin, with regular or irregular shape and with size ranging from 1 µm to 5 mm, of either primary or secondary manufacturing origin, which are insoluble in water that can be carried over wide areas by wind. Utah county is home to a population of 650,950 residing in cities and rural settings. To create a micro-plastics distribution map of the county, wet and dry samples were collected by trapping environmental particles on glass mesh filters. Particle characterization was performed using an infrared microscope equipped with mapping software and Image and Particle Analysis Wizards. In cases where fluorescence did not dominate the spectrum Raman spectroscopy was used for particle verification.
Infrared measurements on the original filters was unsuccessful because of the strong background absorption of the glass filter. Particles were separated from the filter by placing a portion of the filter in a syringe with the surface containing the trapped particles facing the exit opening. After gentle agitation, 10 µL of isopropanol eluted the suspended particles onto a gold surfaced microscope slide. The distributions of particle size and material types are reported and compared to visual quantitative microscopic determinations of the original filters before instrument analysis.

Landon Stubbs

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