Sammendrag
Plastic pollution is a defining environmental contaminant and is considered to be one of the
greatest environmental threats of the Anthropocene, with its presence documented across
aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The majority of this plastic debris falls into the micro (1 μm -
5 mm) or nano (1 - 1000 nm) size range and comes from primary and secondary sources. Its
small size makes it cumbersome to isolate and analyze reproducibly, and its ubiquitous
distribution creates numerous challenges when controlling for background contamination
across matrices (e.g., sediment, tissue, water, air). Although research on microplastics
represents a relatively nascent subfield, burgeoning interest in questions surrounding the fate
and effects of these debris items creates a pressing need for harmonized sampling protocols
and quality control approaches. For results across laboratories to be reproducible and
comparable, it is imperative that guidelines based on vetted protocols be readily available to
research groups, many of which are either new to plastics research or, as with any new
subfield, have arrived at current approaches through a process of trial-and-error rather than in
consultation with the greater scientific community. The goals of this manuscript are to a)
outline the steps necessary to conduct general as well as matrix-specific quality assurance and
quality control based on sample type and associated constraints, b) briefly review current
findings across matrices, and c) provide guidance for the design of sampling regimes. Specific
attention is paid to the source of microplastic pollution as well as the pathway by which
contamination occurs, with details provided regarding each step in the process from generating
appropriate questions to sampling design and collection.
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