Occurrence of Microplastics in the Niagara Dolomite Aquifer
Mentor 1
Charles Paradis
Start Date
10-5-2022 10:00 AM
Description
Microplastics are an emerging contaminant of concern in drinking water. Microplastics are generally defined as plastic fragments that are less than five millimeters in size. The occurrence of microplastics in surface waters has been relatively well documented and this includes the Great Lakes. However, there are relatively few studies that document the occurrence of microplastics in groundwater. The objective of this research is to determine if microplastics occur in the Niagara dolomite aquifer in Milwaukee. The Niagara dolomite aquifer is comprised of fractured rock at a depth of approximately 300 feet below ground surface and is a drinking water source for Eastern Wisconsin. The aquifer may be susceptible to contamination from near-surface sources of microplastics due to the regional cone of depression from pumping and leakage of untreated sanitary sewer water from the Deep Tunnel Project. To determine the occurrence of microplastics, one thousand gallons of groundwater will be pumped from the aquifer using a water supply well located on the campus of UW-Milwaukee and will be filtered through a novel microplastics sampling device provided by UW-Madison. Flow rate, drawdown, and water quality parameters (pH, conductivity, alkalinity, turbidity, total dissolved solids and redox potential) will be measured during pumping. After pumping, the residue in the microplastics sampler will be separated to isolate microplastics to determine their mass, size, and type; size will be determined by scanning electron microscopy, type will be determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. he results of this study will be presented to answer the fundamental question of whether microplastics do or do not occur in the Niagara dolomite aquifer.
Occurrence of Microplastics in the Niagara Dolomite Aquifer
Microplastics are an emerging contaminant of concern in drinking water. Microplastics are generally defined as plastic fragments that are less than five millimeters in size. The occurrence of microplastics in surface waters has been relatively well documented and this includes the Great Lakes. However, there are relatively few studies that document the occurrence of microplastics in groundwater. The objective of this research is to determine if microplastics occur in the Niagara dolomite aquifer in Milwaukee. The Niagara dolomite aquifer is comprised of fractured rock at a depth of approximately 300 feet below ground surface and is a drinking water source for Eastern Wisconsin. The aquifer may be susceptible to contamination from near-surface sources of microplastics due to the regional cone of depression from pumping and leakage of untreated sanitary sewer water from the Deep Tunnel Project. To determine the occurrence of microplastics, one thousand gallons of groundwater will be pumped from the aquifer using a water supply well located on the campus of UW-Milwaukee and will be filtered through a novel microplastics sampling device provided by UW-Madison. Flow rate, drawdown, and water quality parameters (pH, conductivity, alkalinity, turbidity, total dissolved solids and redox potential) will be measured during pumping. After pumping, the residue in the microplastics sampler will be separated to isolate microplastics to determine their mass, size, and type; size will be determined by scanning electron microscopy, type will be determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. he results of this study will be presented to answer the fundamental question of whether microplastics do or do not occur in the Niagara dolomite aquifer.
