Microplastic pollution has been observed in marine environments around the world and has the potential to negatively impact marine organisms if ingested. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are susceptible to this pollution because they feed in sediment where dense plastics accumulate. Microplastic ingestion by blue crabs was assessed in Corpus Christi Bay, TX. Crab stomachs were extracted and digested using a hydrogen‐peroxide based tissue destruction method followed by material confirmation using microattenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (μ‐FTIR). From the 39 blue crabs sampled, 28 fully synthetic fragments and fibers and 24 semisynthetic fibers were found within their stomachs. After correcting for possible contamination, 36% of collected blue crabs contained fully synthetic fragments and fibers and semisynthetic fibers with an estimate of 0.87 items per crab. This study demonstrates the need for further studies that assess the impacts of plastic ingestion on blue crabs.

Plastics and their breakdown components are accumulating at alarming rates in global ecosystems, including the Gulf of Alaska. Obtaining knowledge of the chemical composition of plastics is important because different types of plastics are manufactured using different types of polymers and copolymers for specialized applications. We employed pyrolysis GC-MS for the chemical characterization of 115 plastic debris samples of different physical and optical properties nonrandomly collected from shorelines in the northern Gulf of Alaska. A twotier approach of peak fingerprinting and mass spectral data of marker peaks provided higher confidence in the data. The analyses did not appear to be compromised by the physical properties, optical properties, or weathering conditions of the debris. Polyethylene and polypropylene, the low-density floating plastics possibly of oceanic origins, were some of the most frequently detected polymers in the Katmai National Park and Preserve and Kenai Fjords National Park. Interestingly, a more diverse composition of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, poly(ethylene terephthalate), and poly(vinyl chloride) was detected in Western Prince William Sound shorelines, possibly of oceanic as well as terrestrial origins. Additional benefits of the pyrolysis GC-MS method included the detection of copolymers and plastic additives in the same analytical runs.

Separating microplastics from particulate organic matter (POM) is challenging, particularly for polyethylene and polypropylene, which are buoyant like POM. It is often done using a time-consuming procedure, often with hazardous waste generation. We developed a method using a binary solvent mixture (ethanolwater) followed by water solvation to separate microplastics from estuarine POM and water. The isolated microplastics were quantified and characterized using μFT-IR and SEM, with particle sizes ranging from 30-2500 μm and percentage mass from 2.62-21.3% w / w in POM and 0.04-0.42% w / v for surface water respectively. Different polymer types, colors, and shapes were observed. Method recovery assessed using spiking yielded 89-93.1% and the method was validated by visual sorting with dye staining. This simple method aligns with Green Chemistry approaches by using ethanol, making it accessible to researchers throughout regions of the world where plastic debris is a major challenge but resources to study the problem are limited.

Separating microplastics (MPs) (smaller particle size, < 1 mm) from complex environmental samples such as particulate organic matter (POM) is challenging, particularly for polyethylene and polypropylene, which are buoyant like POM. It is often done using a time‐consuming procedure, often with hazardous waste generation. We developed a simple, low‐cost procedure using a binary solvent mixture (ethanol–water) followed by water solvation to separate MPs from estuarine POM and surface water. The isolated MPs were quantified and characterized using μFT‐IR and scanning electron microscopy, with particle sizes ranging from 30 to 2500 μm and percentage mass from 2.62–21.3% wt/wt in POM and 0.04–0.42% wt/vol for surface water, respectively. Different polymer types, colors, and shapes were observed. Method recovery assessed using spiking yielded 89–93.1% and the method was validated by visual sorting with dye staining. This method is low‐cost, simple, and aligns with Green Chemistry approaches while efficiently separating plastics of various particle sizes, shapes, and compositions. Furthermore, this low‐cost approach and the near‐universal availability of ethanol make this method more accessible in research and education throughout regions of the world where plastic debris is a major challenge but resources to study the problem are limited.