Water’s Invisible Enemy

We are all familiar with the visible signs of pollution in the world around us. We are aware too, of the problem of water pollution and the role that humans play in water contamination. When I think about water pollution, I tend to envision oil soaked otters, fish caught in plastic rings, and other such dramatic and shocking images. But what about the mysterious world of microscopic ocean pollutants? A recent Science News article, found at http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/46620/title/Styrofoam_degrades_in_seawater, relates the danger of the decomposition of polystyrene, or styrofoam, in seawater. Recent experimentation shows that polystyrene decomposes at the normal temperature of seawater. As it degrades, seemingly invisible components of polystrene, known as styrenes, break away from each other into the surrounding seawater, potentially contaminating the water. The article also states that plastics, such as polystyrene, once in the ocean, do not readily leave. The possibly harmful styrenes could create an entirely new problem in the world of plastic pollution: infinitesimal pollutants, unobservable by the naked eye. This problem has the potential of harming life in the ocean just as much as visible plastic pollution. It’s really eye-opening to think that human-created plastics have the potential to pollute something as vast as the oceans at even a microscopic level. We have truly infiltrated the world around us with our waste.

Posted by Elizabeth Tristano