Would the Oceans Become Toxic to Humanity Due to Use and Mismanagement of Plastics?

The production of plastics and associated products, including microplastics (MPs), has been surging over the past several decades and now poses a grave environmental threat. This is because when not appropriately recycled, incinerated, or disposed of in fully contained landfills, plastic waste manifests as a potent pollutant, with vast amounts finding their way into oceans annually, adversely impacting marine life and ecosystems. Additionally, research also confirms there are direct impacts from MPs on water, air, and soil, impacting ecosystem and human health.

Principal component regression model applied to dimensionally reduced spectral fluorescent signature for the determination of organic character and THM formation potential of source water.

The characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in source water not only is central to the study of precursors to disinfection by-products (DBPs), but can also aid in controlling the discharge of potentially harmful organic chemicals in water bodies. Rapid determination of six DOM fraction concentrations provides an added advantage in understanding the organic character of water in comparison to the measure of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which is an aggregate parameter typically used by water purveyors. The experimental procedure for DOM isolation and fractionation by ionic resins is lengthy and tedious.