Researchers focus on microplastics

A group of five-dozen researchers are gathering in Bramerton, Washington, this week to gauge the risk of microplastic pollution in the region and help plan how to respond. “This is an alarm bell that’s going to ring loud and strong,” conference organizer Stacey Harper, an associate professor at Oregon State University, told the Associated Press. “We’re first going to prioritize who it is that we’re concerned about protecting: what organisms, what endangered species, what regions. And that will help us hone in … and determine the data we need to do a risk assessment.”

Read more in the Associated Press.