Field Measurements Reveal Exposure Risk to Microplastic Ingestion by Filter-Feeding Megafauna
Reports Andrew Craigie Reports Andrew Craigie

Field Measurements Reveal Exposure Risk to Microplastic Ingestion by Filter-Feeding Megafauna

Per day, a krill-obligate blue whale may ingest 10 million pieces of microplastic, while a fish-feeding humpback whale likely ingests 200,000 pieces of microplastic. For species struggling to recover from historical whaling alongside other anthropogenic pressures, our findings suggest that the cumulative impacts of multiple stressors require further attention.

Read More
Invisible, Unbreakable, Unnatural: PFAS Contamination of U.S. Surface Waters
Reports Andrew Craigie Reports Andrew Craigie

Invisible, Unbreakable, Unnatural: PFAS Contamination of U.S. Surface Waters

While PFAS compounds are believed to be ubiquitous in U.S. waterways, no nationwide surface water quality survey exists. As a result, the levels and effects of PFAS are unknown for many rivers, streams, lakes, and other U.S. surface waters that serve as drinking water sources, recreational waters, and fisheries. To address this troubling lack of information about the presence of, and dangers posed by, PFAS in U.S. surface waters, Waterkeeper Alliance contracted with Cyclopure, Inc., a materials science and environmental engineering firm headquartered in Illinois, to help conduct a monitoring project in which we worked with more than 100 Waterkeeper groups across the United States on an unprecedented initiative to test U.S. surface waters for PFAS contamination.

Read More