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t m c » p u l s e | n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 9 30 The scientists didn't just stop with water samples— they looked at marine life, too. It turned out that the tiny pieces of plastic had also made their way inside sea creatures, from tiny organisms to larger fish—fish that, through the inevitable cycle of the food web, wind up on dinner plates. "We also looked at two different organisms that occurred throughout the water column, pelagic red crabs, which make their living by filter feeding, and these organisms called giant larvaceans. ... Every crab, every larvacean, every water sample had plastic in it. Everything had plastic in it," Van Houtan said. "The numbers are staggering of how much plastic goes into the ocean every minute, every hour, every day—of how many particles are actually in the ocean right now, in the marine ecosystem, in the food webs and passing to higher-level organisms like sharks and tunas and sea birds, and that ultimately interacts with our food web, because we eat fish that come out of the ocean. We also eat a lot of filter feeds like clams and mussels and oysters, and they're doing the same thing that these larvaceans and pelagic red crabs are doing—they're filter-feeding the water column, so whatever's in the water, they're going to get." The MBARI study, which was published in Scientific Reports in June, isn't the first time microplastics have been discovered in the food supply. A separate study published in PLOS ONE in April 2018 found "anthropogenic particles"—including microplastics and synthetic fibers—in tap water, beer and commercial sea salt. The researchers calculated that the average person ingests more than 5,800 particles of synthetic debris annually, with the vast majority coming from tap water. And a Belgian study from 2014 found microplastics in shellfish, with estimates that European shellfish consum- ers ingest approximately 11,000 microplastics each year. A reckoning In recent years, plastic manufacturers, acknowledging the health risks associated with BPA especially, have looked for alternatives to the synthetic compound. But many of the alternatives have been shown to carry sim- ilar chemical activity, Mancini said, which means they would also interfere with the hormonal system. "When BPA-free products were showing up on the shelves and baby aisles and everywhere, manufacturers were so proud of themselves for taking the BPA out and they just grabbed an alternative, which nobody ever tested. We tested a bunch of them, and guess what? Go further. At the TWU Institute of Health Sciences – Houston Center, you can earn your graduate degree in physical therapy, nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, health care administration or business. Get the support you need every step of the way. Learn more at TWU.edu/houston