There was a time in 2015 when the Connecticut legislature was considering banning consumer products containing microbeads. It stood to reason, the argument went, that they just might end up in our rivers, streams, and in Long Island Sound.

It made sense, but the scientific evidence supporting a measure specifically in Connecticut was, at the time, scant.

So Vincent T. Breslin, a professor at Southern Connecticut State University, rounded up some students, some plankton nets, and ran some experiments. As it turned out, there were microbeads in Long Island Sound supporting such a ban. But he felt it was important to go that extra step, rather than just relying upon supposition. Microbead bans were enacted in Connecticut and, ultimately, nationwide.

Breslin, a professor at Southern Connecticut State University who is co-founder and co-coordinator of the Werth Center for Coastal and Marine Studies, is a bit of a stickler when it comes to relying upon science when asking people to change their behavior.

And that’s a good thing, since the kind of changes he’s asking us to make have the potential to shift the way we think about and how we go about being consumers of food, clothes, and other products that inhabit our everyday lives.

While there is a bit of work required of us, both of the intellectual sort, and when it comes to making choices, the payoff is real, according to the science. Making these changes means that substances like microplastics, for example, don’t end up in the water, and don’t end up in aquatic animals, and don’t end up in the food chain that ends with the dinner on your plate.

Upcoming Talk Addresses Issue

Breslin spent much of his career studying and warning people about heavy metals such as lead, copper, zinc, and mercury in ocean and river waters.

“Research is showing that concentrations of these metals are decreasing over time in the Sound, primarily due to source reduction in wastewater and atmospheric emissions. Implementation of the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act has reduced discharges of these metals to the environment,” he says. “Also, the nature of our regional economy has changed, with more service industries and fewer manufacturing industries.”

But, even as these pollutants were reduced, another threat became clear and that was microplastics.

Breslin will be discussing that in a talk titled “Microplastics in Long Island Sound: From Emerging Contaminant to Potential Threat” on Tuesday, March 30 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. To register for the online event, visit the Friends of Outer Island Facebook page, and follow the link on the Events tab, or visit eventbrite.com and search for “Microplastics in Long Island Sound.”

Plastics, in fact, in part due to all of their utility in our lives, have become one of the leading pollutants in lakes and oceans.

Microplastics, less than five millimeters in length, or, as the National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration puts it, “about the size of a sesame seed,” are among the most problematic since they can pass through some filtration systems. So that means, come beach clean-up day, they can’t be fished out of the water like that plastic bag or styrofoam take-out container at the edge of the ocean.

As tiny as they are, they can be mistaken for food by birds and fish.

You Don’t Want it On Your Dinner Plate

Breslin, who has an office about a stone’s throw from Long Island Sound, not only has been part of the solution, he has worked with other faculty and students at SCSU on the problem, with a focus on problem solving along Connecticut’s shorelines. The Werth Center was established about 15 years ago to provide an umbrella for that problem-solving research. The microplastics research is supported not only by the Werth Center, but also by Connecticut State University Faculty Research Grants, and by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven through its Quinnipiac River Fund.

His research, in particular, is designed to improve science education by focusing on real world problems like this.

He knows from his own personal experience that he learns best by doing.

“I think students do as well. The marine environment and coastal Connecticut is an ideal place for these projects. They develop a personal connection with Long Island Sound, which is very important. And we can use our science to address societal needs,” he says. “When students see that their work in some way addresses societal needs, that makes an important connection for them.”

While it’s clear the problem of microplastics is growing, there is ongoing research to help us understand how fast it is growing, and the extent of the threat. What scientists do know is that “in virtually any environment where they look for microplastics, they find microplastics. People are drinking it in bottled water. We’re finding it in sediments. We’ve found it in oysters and menhaden in Long Island Sound.”

It’s not surprising that they’re found in menhaden (a fish also called bunker), since they eat by filtering water through their mouths. Along with the phytoplankton and zooplankton, they’re getting microplastics. They are a key species in the marine ecosystem, and are themselves food for other fish and animals.

“They get eaten by bluefish and striped bass, so that’s a concern,” he says.

Being Part of the Solution

Breslin has been a big advocate and participant in the annual beach clean ups that endeavor to clean the shoreline of debris before it’s broken down into smaller particles. And, he notes, one thing we can all do is make sure we don’t contribute to the waste over the summer, and to promptly pick up any that is in sight.

There are other ways to be part of the solution as well. That means reducing our consumption of plastics, and mitigating its escape into the environment. He says most people are not aware of how much of the clothing they wear is made of plastics.

“One of the primary sources of microfibers is that they are shed from clothing as it ages, weathers, and deteriorates. It’s going out from the washing machine into the water. The fleece and polyester you’re wearing? When it fragments, it forms fibers that are microplastics,” he says.

While most of the microplastics are removed during the sewage treatment process, some of it makes its way through as well, enough to be problematic.

“So a good deal of is it seems to be coming from the laundry. And there are a number of devices that allow you to filter the water and trap the microplastics, either in the washing machine or as they are leaving the washing machine,” he says.

One product he is familiar with is called a Cora Ball that can be tossed into any washing machine. It traps fuzz and lint, and can be cleaned out, just like the lint filter in the dryer, in between uses. There are also laundry bags that you can put your fleece in, to capture fibers.

Breslin said, ideally, we would wear less plastic and more natural fibers, but he knows this is a difficult request. He asks his students to be very conscious of what they wear, as they don’t allow polyester fiber in the lab, because it could shed fibers and affect results.

“But going plastic free is difficult,” he says.

For the average person who does not work in a lab, one way to help is by seeking out clothing brands and other products made from recycled materials. The greater the demand is, the more likely it is these kinds of products will become more common.

“In the absence of demand, there is no incentive to do that,” he says.

How Do We Dispose of This?

Breslin says the resurgence of demand for plastics during the pandemic happened for really good reasons. But now, legislators are looking again at measures like banning restaurants from using single-use styrofoam containers. A measure that would implement such a ban starting in July 2023 recently passed out of a key legislative committee.

Another measure under consideration would ban foam trays in school cafeterias. Another would put limits on restaurateurs’ ability to offer plastic straws without the straws being specifically requested. Helium balloons and single-use produce bags also might be targeted by legislation.

Breslin says in Europe some work has been done to make manufacturers consider how their manufactured products will be disposed of at the end of its life cycle. For example, the European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment considers “the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle,” according to its website, including resource extraction, manufacturing, and use. Emissions into the environment are a key measure.

“You manufacture something, you’re concerned about how it performs. But you also have to think, how do we dispose of this?” Breslin says.

Biodegradable plastics, for example, only are biodegradable if they are disposed of in a solid waste system that facilitates that biodegradation. If they’re thrown out at the beach and end up in the water, it becomes part of the problem.

Breslin says it’s also true that, even as disposing of trash has become a problem at the state level and for some municipalities, as countries like China have refused to continue taking it, many people remain blithely unaware of what, exactly, should go into a recycling bin and what should not. More information on how to do that correctly can be found at www.recyclect.com.

“People need to be responsible for that,” he says.

Joining In

In addition to leaving beaches and shorelines clean this summer, Breslin says those who care about Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River can join organizations that play an active role in keeping them healthy.

The third Saturday of every September is International Coastal Cleanup Day, hosted by the Ocean Conservancy: oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup. He says one day cleaning up the beaches in September will likely convince anyone of the scope of the problem. Connecticut Sea Grant (seagrant.uconn.edu), affiliated with the University of Connecticut, also does good work, as does Save the Sound (www.savethesound.org), he says.

“Also, you could always make choices as a consumer to buy less packaging,” he says. “Do away with plastic bags and plastic boxes. You can reduce your impact by making choices about the amount of waste you generate as a family or individual. That’s always a good start.”

He says anyone with questions about the subject of microplastics in the marine environment is welcome to participate in the talk being hosted by the Friends of Outer Island, and they are welcome to contact him at the university at breslinv1@southernct.edu.

“It’s important that we be better stewards of the environment,” he says. “And it doesn’t necessary have to be all about plastics...shorter showers, driving your car less, energy use. All of that is very important when it comes to contaminants. These small cumulative behavior changes could add up to big savings and less impact over time.”