New Western University research targets plastic blobs in Great Lakes

New research from Western University suggests that plastic pellets accumulating in Canada’s Great Lakes, rivers and shorelines may be turning our pristine playgrounds into a toxic nightmare.

An estimated 100 million tons of plastic debris is floating around the world’s oceans, but research into the effects of these plastics on the Great Lakes – the largest freshwater ecosystem in the world – is relatively uncharted territory.

Patricia Corcoran, an earth sciences professor at Western’s Faculty of Science, and her team are conducting pioneering research into the pathways of plastic debris into the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. This accumulation of plastics has the potential for widespread impact on multiple ecosystems, food chains and even tourism.

Previous research investigating plastic debris along Lake Huron was a first for a freshwater ecosystem and unlike the obvious plastic bottles, syringes and containers that litter Ontario beaches it is the smaller, meso- and microplastics that have caught Corcoran’s attention, specifically plastic pellets. These lentil-sized plastics are commonly used by manufacturers, melted down and then molded into larger products.

Approximately 47 per cent of the companies working in the plastic products industry in Canada are located in Ontario. Pellets are transported around the province, commonly spilling en route to their destinations or on factory floors where they are then swept into drains making their way through our storm sewers and eventually out to the larger bodies of water.

“How many of these pellets are actually infiltrating Canada’s waterways, how they’re getting there and the effects they are causing is the crux of our research,” says Corcoran. “And the first step is deducing where the hotspots are.”

Corcoran’s first significant find is a blob of plastic debris equal to about 25 meters of sidewalk lining the shoreline of Humber Bay. Significant amounts of plastic pellets were also uncovered along the riverbank and floating down the Humber River, a waterway that feeds directly into Lake Ontario.

Fieldwork will begin in August 2014 to identify other hotspots and to take core sediment samples from the bottoms of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Corcoran and her team will use these samples to identify how much plastic has already accumulated, the date it started and the rate at which it continues to accumulate. Corcoran’s team is collaborating with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Environment Canada on this research.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jeff Renaud, Senior Media Relations Officer, 519-661-2111, ext. 85165, jrenaud9@uwo.ca, @jeffrenaud

ABOUT WESTERN
Western delivers an academic experience second to none. Since 1878, The Western Experience has combined academic excellence with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth in order to better serve our communities. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western attracts individuals with a broad worldview, seeking to study, influence and lead in the international community.