In an article published on February 28, 2020, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has announced the launch of an inter-laboratory comparison study that aims to harmonize methods used to measure microplastics in water. The JRC wrote that a lack of methods is currently limiting the assessment of human exposure to microplastics, and this study aims to help fill that gap. The study will see samples of water spiked with microplastics sent to 130 laboratories around the world that will independently analyze and measure the quantity of microplastics in the samples and send their results back to the JRC. These results “will help to identify potential methods for further harmonization of measurements of microplastics in water.” The JRC says it aims to publish the outcomes of the study in the Fall of 2020.
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EU Science Hub (February 28, 2020). “Finding the right methods for measuring microplastics in water.”
