WASHINGTON — Toothpastes and face scrubs with microbeads may be harmless for your teeth and skin, but they’re terrible for the ocean, according to a new study from Oregon State University.
Microbeads enter wastewater streams and disrupt water quality and wildlife, creating widespread problems in oceans, freshwater lakes and rivers.
In the new analysis, researchers say there are eight trillion microbeads emitted every day in water streams in the United States — enough to cover more than 300 tennis courts.
Another 800 trillion microbeads end up in sludge from sewage plants. Many of the microbeads can make their way into streams and oceans through runoff.
“Microbeads are just one of many types of microplastic found in aquatic habitats and in the gut content of wildlife,” said Chelsea Rochman, the David H. Smith Conservation Research Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California/Davis, and lead author on the analysis.
As the study points out, a number of companies have committed to stop using microbeads in personal care products.
Maryland, Indiana, Maine, Colorado, New Jersey and Illinois have passed legislation to restrict the use of microbeads. California has banned the particles outright.
An article published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal says nontoxic and biodegradable alternatives exist for microbeads.
“We’re facing a plastic crisis and don’t even know it,” said Stephanie Green, the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow in the College of Science at Oregon State University, and co-author of the study.
