PARIS — Researchers from the Tara Ocean Foundation, an environmental research organization, collected water samples from nine rivers across Europe and found microplastic particles present in every sample.<br /><br />Scientists traveled aboard a research ship called the Tara, across Europe's coastline for six months between May to November and collected 2,700 water samples, according to the foundation's website.<br /><br />These samples were collected from different sites on rivers which included the Thames, Elbe, Rhine and Seine.<br /><br />The microplastic particles found were less than 5 millimeters in size and were mostly microbeads or secondary microplastics, which are formed from larger plastic pieces due to exposure to sunlight.<br /><br />The organization stated that these samples will be analyzed in laboratories in the next 12 to 18 months in order to determine their composition, degradation and their origins.<br /><br />The project's aim is to identify the source of microplastic pollution and its impact on marine life.
