Students SPARK Local Microplastics Research

The Student Partnerships for Advanced Research and Knowledge (SPARK) program at Brookhaven National Laboratory provides an opportunity for high school students to perform authentic, hypothesis-driven research as users of the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) in collaboration with their teachers and Brookhaven Lab scientists. In this featured project, students from five Long Island high schools identified contaminating microplastics in local waterways with synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy. Identification of microplastic sources can help inform policies aimed at reducing or preventing plastic pollution and protect aquatic ecosystems from the potential risks microplastics pose to organisms.