More rain and flooding brings back awful memories to those who live near the Delaware River in Bucks County. And on the eve of a State Task Force visit aimed at addressing flooding issues, that’s exactly what’s in the weather forecast.
A new study led by a statewide environmental nonprofit organization found microplastics in each of 53 Pennsylvania waterways sampled, including four in Centre County.
The report “Microplastics in Pennsylvania,” released Wednesday by PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center found that samples taken from Spring Creek, Slab Cabin Run, Buffalo Run and Cedar Run all contained microplastics tiny pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in length.
More than 300 samples were collected from bodies of water in every corner of the state for the study, which used a citizen-science protocol developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that has been implemented across the country to identify microplastic contamination.
The Lehigh and Delaware rivers were among those studied by the PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center, which says the findings should “set off alarms” about pollution and environmental stewardship.