S2.4: Would You Like Some Plastic With Your Water?

Vacuum filter that will separate the H20 and microplastics

Would You Like Some Plastic With Your Water?
This past week, I continued to work on my project background. I did some more research on existing studies regarding microplastics but still have only found one preliminary study on microplastics in global drinking water. I also continued to work with my project mentor, Matt, to collect the materials needed to conduct the experiment. The highlight of my week in the internship was Matt being able to find the same filter paper and pore size as outlined in the procedures we are following from another experiment. I should be able to start filtering the water by early next week.  So far I have four tap water samples collected from the central phoenix area. I am extremely grateful that two fellow stem-members agreed to bring in water samples from their kitchen sinks. My goal is to collect water from Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western regions of Phoenix. We shall see what the next week in the lab brings!

S2.3: Snapshot of the Microplastics Research Proposal

(Reference 6)

The Presence of Microplastics in the City of Phoenix Public Drinking Water

Over the past decade several research experiments have indicated that society is now in the “Age of Plastic” and traces of plastic can be found virtually everywhere. Even when plastic seems to be broken down, not visible to the naked eye, it is still present on the microscopic level and polluting air, surface water, oceans, sediments, and marine life including types of seafood (Rochman et. al. 2015). Microplastics are also found in personal care products and machine-washed clothing (Wright and Kelly 2017). However, the question remains as to whether microplastics have polluted public drinking water. It appears as though only one public observational experiment surveying tap water has ever been performed. Research conducted by Kosuth et. al. (2017) collected 150 water samples from six regions on five continents, including parts of the US and found that 83% of tap water around the world contained microplastics, and of the samples taken in the United States, 94% of water contained microplastics. The researchers of the experiment expressed the need to further test geographical regions, and include more information about water sources and ground filtration methods prior to human use to better understand potential pathways of contamination. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the country and the eighth fastest growing city in the United States (USA Today 2018). It is imperative to test Phoenix public drinking water for a number of reasons: Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities; research on microplastics in tap water for the City of Phoenix is not publicly available and possibly has not be researched to date; and to contribute data to the emerging field of microplastics and its effect on human health.

Research questions

Are microscopic plastic particles and fibers present in public drinking water throughout the
City of Phoenix.

Are microscopic plastic particles and fibers present in filtered water and store-bought bottled water?

Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1: Samples of drinking water taken in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area will be positive
for microplastics.

Null Hypothesis: Samples of drinking water taken in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area will be
negative for microplastics.

Independent Variables: Location and type of  drinking water sample

Dependent Variable:  The amount of microplastics found in water sample

Control Variable: Vacuum Filter, Deionized Water (500mL), 2 mL Rose Bengal Dye,
Volume of Water Sample (500mL), water sample collection method, vacuum filter paper
(1.75 µm), laminar airflow cabinet, and Microscope.

Key Words:

Microplastics: Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long
which can be harmful (adapted from the NOAA)

Drinking Water: tap water which comes from public sources, residential homes, filtration
systems and bottled water

References

1.Comen, E. (2018, January 15). The fastest growing (and shrinking) states: A closer look. USA

Today. Retrieved February 08, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/
2018/01/15/fastest-growing-and-shrinking-states-closer-look/1019429001/

2. Gerd Liebezeit & Elisabeth Liebezeit (2014) Synthetic particles as contaminants in German

beers, Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 31:9, 1574-1578, DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2014.945099

3.Kosuth, M., Wattenberg, E., Mason, S., Tyree, C., & Morrison, D. (2017, May 16). Synthetic

Polymer Contamination in Global Drinking Water (Rep.). Retrieved February 01, 2018, from Orb Media website:
https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_final_report

4.National Ocean Service. 2017. What are microplastics? National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration. United States Department of Commerce. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html

5.Rochman, Chelsea M., Tahir, Akbar, Williams,Susan L., Baxa Dolores V., Lam,Rosalyn,

Miller,Jeffrey T., Teh, Foo-Ching , Werorilangi,Shinta, Swee, Teh. Anthropogenic debris in seafood:
Plastic debris and fibers from textiles in fish and bivalves sold for human consumption. Sci Rep. 2015; 5: 14340.
Published online 2015 Sep 24. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4585829/

6. http://www.phoenixasap.com/gfx/phoenix-villages.png

S2.2: Geeking Out Over My Research Project

Geeking Out Over My Research Project
This week I was able to gather more information on the first and only research project completed on identifying the prevalence of microplastics in drinking water. The research was conducted by Orb Media which is a professional nonprofit journalism organization that aims to provide data driven information to its stakeholders. For more information on Orb's background and mission see the link here: https://orbmedia.org/what-we-do
The research conducted by Orb Media stemmed from their question: "If microscopic plastic particles and fibers are found in the world's oceans and freshwater locations, could they be in the drinking water as well? The observational study collected 150 tapwater samples from cities and towns on five continents. The data revealed that microplastics were in fact found in drinking water but also called for more research to be done on the topic. The study was supervised by Sherri Mason, who is a prominent researcher in the field of microplastic pollution. Their study also provided the materials and methods for their research experiment. I was excited to come across this information, because my goal is to try and follow their method for consistency purposes. So far, I have gone through their report and noted the methods and materials section. My next step is to run a practice sample to familiarize myself with the methods and procedures. I will be collecting a tapwater sample from a residential home in Central Phoenix by the end of the week.
I am super stoked to find out how the data compares to the United States data. Based on the report, it appears that only samples from the West Coast, East Coast, and Midwest areas were taken but there is not mention of the Southwest or Arizona specifically. I believe it is imperative to have local data on microplastic pollution in drinking water. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities and in the top ten largest cities in the United States and therefore it is important to research microplastic pollution in tapwater sources.

References:
https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_final_report

S2.1: Back to the Lab!

Back to the Lab!
It's been really exciting to come start the spring semester, because I have been looking forward to the internship. My time back has gotten off to a rough start. I quickly learned the importance of para-filming sample plates for long-term storage. When I went into the refrigerator, I came to find that all my samples had been contaminated and dried-out. Luckily, there will be more creosote samples to tests, but this was definitely a hard lesson learned.
As for the rest of the semester, I have become interested in microplastics. I am hoping to work on a research project this semester which will allow me to test for micro-plastics in city drinking water. My interest in this topic came from reading a report on plastic contamination in the tap water of cities around the world. I am interested in finding out how data from the Phoenix area compares to national and global data.

S-STEM Intern Biography

Biography
My name is Samantha Faltermeier, and I am returning student working toward a second bachelor’s degree in Biology before I attend graduate school. My previous bachelor's degree is in Sociology. It is my third semester as a full-time student here at Phoenix College. My areas of interests are Biology, Public Health/Safety, and Public Policy. I have chosen this path for numerous reasons. I want to conduct research in a laboratory setting. I would like to use this research to help advocate for better health outcomes and health policy, because public policy affects the lives of people and research supports dissemination of unbiased information Lastly, this path will allow me to give back to my community by serving as a role model for future Hispanic women scientists.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking with friends and am a nationally certified EMT.

14: Larrea Tridentata Preliminary Results

Me getting my silly faces out before the presentation

Preliminary Results: Leaf Microbiome of Larrea tridentata in Urban Phoenix Versus Rural Phoenix

This week, I focused on preparing to present my preliminary results to the S-STEM Team. During the presentation, I focused on summarizing the project focus and initial results. A summary of the results can be found below:

A total of 25 colony samples were isolated, however only 24 colony samples were analyzed due to a testing error with the colony sample from the Phoenix urban area (See Table 1). Initial results showed that roughly one third of the unknown samples have a Bacillus cell morphology, 29.2% have Cocci cell morphology, and 37.5% of the samples have a Coccobacilli cell morphology. Roughly 90% of the samples tested positive for endospores. Seventy-one percent of the samples tested positive for acid production in glucose, 54.2 % of the samples tested positive for acid production in Triple Sugar Iron Agar media, and over half of the samples tested positive for acid production in Mannitol Salt Agar media.. Approximately 75.0% percent of the samples were able to grow in 42 degrees Celsius. All the samples tested positive for gram stains and negative for Simmons Citrate. Nearly half of the samples tested positive for aerobic growth. 

13: Larrea Tridentata Metabolic Test Completion

Metabolic Tests

Larrea Tridentata Metabolic Test Completion

I feel like the last two weeks have been a race against time. My goal is to finish testing and analyzing data for the remaining culture samples before our final paper is due. I finally completed all the metabolic and morphological tests on all 25 culture samples. It's definitely been a challenge to try and finish this goal, because for each culture sample, 13 different tests were needed to be completed. In total, that was 325 tests that had to be completed. I used an excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the tests ran and the results. I will focus on presenting the information collected thus far on the 25 culture samples. Next semester, I will focus on identifying the bacteria species of the 25 culture samples.