NUI Galway study finds that wet wipes and sanitary towels are an underestimated source of white microplastic fibres in the marine environment and 50 percent of wet wipe brands tested in this study that were labelled ‘flushable’ contained plastic fibres.
NUI Galway study finds that wet wipes and sanitary towels are an underestimated source of white microplastic fibres in the marine environment and 50 percent of wet wipe brands tested in this study that were labelled ‘flushable’ contained plastic fibres.
Researchers from Earth and Ocean Sciences and the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway have carried out a study on the contribution of widely flushed personal care textile products (wet wipes and sanitary towels) to the ocean plastic crisis.
Dr Liam Morrison led the study, which showed that sediments adjacent to a wastewater treatment plant are consistently strewn with white microplastic fibres that are comparable to those from commercially available consumer sanitary products (wet wipes and sanitary towels). The article has been published in the international journal Water Research and was co-authored by NUI Galway PhD student Ana Mendes and Maynooth University graduate Oisín Ó Briain.
In most studies to date, white fibres are likely underestimated, because of the commonly used filtration procedure to capture microplastic fibres as filters are commonly white, making visual identification of microscopic white fibres against a white background difficult. This is significant given the global growth of non-woven synthetic fibre products and their ubiquity in wastewater.
Read more at National University of Ireland Galway
Image: From left, Dr Liam Morrison of NUI Galway with PhD student Ana Mendes and Maynooth University graduate student Oisín Ó Briain at Grattan beach near Galway City. (Credit: Aengus McMahon)
