Publications
2025
James B, Sun Y, Pate K, Irving B, Ward C. Designing circular, sustainable, and non-persistent consumer plastic products: a case study of drinking straws. ChemRxiv. 2025; doi:10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-vtczp This content is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed.
Ward CP, Reddy CM, James BD (2025) Initial estimates of the lifetime of unsmoked cellulose diacetate and paper cigarette filters in the coastal ocean. Environmental Science: Advances. Advance online publication
Walsh AN, Dunlea AG, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2025) Characterization of Inorganic Additives in and Photochemically Liberated from Consumer Plastics: Implications for Global and Local Biogeochemical Cycles. ACS Environmental Au. XXX: xxx-xxx.
James BD, Medvedev AV, Medvedeva LA, Martsen E, Gorman KL, Lin B, Makarov SS, Aluwihare LI, Vos Ad, Reddy CM, Hahn ME (2025) Burnt plastic (pyroplastic) from the M/V X-Press Pearl ship fire and plastic spill contain compounds that activate endocrine and metabolism-related human and fish transcription factors. Environment and Health (ACS) 3: 91-101
2024
Pitt JA, Gallager SM, Youngs S, Michel APM, Hahn ME, Aluru N (2024) The abundance and localization of environmental microplastics in gastrointestinal tract and muscle of Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus): A pilot study. Microplastics and Nanoplastics 4: 23
James BD, Sun Y, Pate K, Shankar R, Izallalen M, Mazumder S, Perri ST, Houston KR, Edwards B, de Wit J, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2024) Foaming Enables Material-Efficient Bioplastic Products with Minimal Persistence. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 12: 16030-16040.
Muñoz-Pérez JP, Lewbart GA, Toapanta T, Chadwick H, Okoffo ED, Alarcón-Ruales D, Zurita-Arthos L, Jones JS, Cisneros F, Moreira-Mendieta A, Vintimilla-Palacios C, Miranda C, Vallejo F, Houck E, Alemán R, Escobar-Flores K, Skehel A, Castañeda J, Secoura P, Vaden S, Lewis C, Galloway T, Wallace B, Godley BJ, Cole M, Lindeque P, Thomas KV, Potvin DA, Valle CA, Townsend KA (2024) Plastic pollution and health metrics in wild juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) from two Ecuadorian national parks: Galápagos and Machalilla. Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science 2.
Law KL, Sobkowicz MJ, Shaver MP, Hahn ME (2024) Untangling the chemical complexity of plastics to improve life cycle outcomes. Nature Reviews Materials 9: 657-667
James BD, Medvedev AV, Makarov SS, Nelson RK, Reddy CM, Hahn ME (2024) Moldable plastics (polycaprolactone) can be acutely toxic to developing zebrafish and activate nuclear receptors in mammalian cells. ACS Biomaterial Science & Engineering 10: 5237−5251
Aanesen M, Ahi JC, Abate TG, Khan FR, de Vries FP, Kite-Powell H, Beaumont NJ (2024) Insights from international environmental legislation and protocols for the global plastic treaty. Scientific Reports 14: 2750.
James BD, Sun Y, Izallalen M, Mazumder S, Perri ST, Edwards B, de Wit J, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2024) Strategies to Reduce the Environmental Lifetimes of Drinking Straws in the Coastal Ocean. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 12: 2404-2411.
Ward CP, Reddy CM, Edwards B, Perri ST (2024) To curb plastic pollution, industry and academia must unite. Nature 625: 658-662.
Rypina II, Pratt LJ, Dotzel M (2024) Aggregation of slightly buoyant microplastics in 3D vortex flows. Nonlin Processes Geophys 31: 25-44.
Pitt JA, Hahn ME, Aluru N (2024) Implications of Exposure Route for the Bioaccumulation Potential of Nanopolystyrene Particles. Chemosphere 351: 141133.
James BD, Ward CP, Hahn ME, Thorpe SJ, Reddy CM (2024) Minimizing the environmental impacts of plastic pollution through eco-design of products with low environmental persistence. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 12: 1185–1194.
Pitt JA, Aluru N, Hahn ME (2024) Microplastics in Marine Food Webs. In: Shumway SE, Ward E, editors. Plastics in the Sea: Occurrence and Impacts. (in press) (Pitt_Aluru_Hahn_FoodWebs_2024b)
2023
Sun Y, Mazzotta MG, Miller CA, Apprill A, Izallalen M, Mazumder S, Perri ST, Edwards B, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2023) Distinct microbial communities degrade cellulose diacetate bioplastics in the coastal ocean. Appl Environ Microbiol: e0165123.
James BD, Reddy CM, Hahn ME, Nelson RK, de Vos A, Aluwihare LI, Wade TL, Knap AH, Bera G (2023) Fire and Oil Led to Complex Mixtures of PAHs on Burnt and Unburnt Plastic during the M/V X-Press Pearl Disaster. ACS Environmental Au 3, 5, 319–335.
Nelson, TF and Ward CP (2023) Diffusion-Ordered Spectroscopy for Rapid and Facile Determination of Consumer Plastic Molecular Weight. Anal. Chem. 2023, 95, 22, 8560–8568
James BD, Karchner SI, Walsh AN, Aluru N, Franks DG, Sullivan KR, Reddy CM, Ward CP, Hahn ME (2023) Formulation Controls the Potential Neuromuscular Toxicity of Polyethylene Photoproducts in Developing Zebrafish. Environ Sci Technol. 57, 21, 7966–7977.
Landrigan PJ, Raps H, Cropper M, Bald C, Brunner M, Canonizado EM, Charles D, Chiles TC, Donohue MJ, Enck J, Fenichel P, Fleming LE, Ferrier-Pages C, Fordham R, Gozt A, Griffin C, Hahn ME, Haryanto B, Hixson R, Ianelli H, James BD, Kumar P, Laborde A, Law KL, Martin K, Mu J, Mulders Y, Mustapha A, Niu J, Pahl S, Park Y, Pedrotti M-L, Pitt JA, Ruchirawat M, Seewoo BJ, Spring M, Stegeman JJ, Suk W, Symeonides C, Takada H, Thompson RC, Vicini A, Wang Z, Whitman E, Wirth D, Wolff M, Yousuf AK, Dunlop S. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health. Annals of Global Health 2023; 89: 1–215. (WHOI News Release)
Bourzac K (2023) Grappling with the biggest marine plastic spill in history. Chemical & Engineering News 101: 25-31. (Not a WHOI author, but WHOI scientists are featured.)
2022
Jiang H, Pechenik JA (2022) Hydrodynamic role of substrate attachment in shaping the suspension-feeding current created by the marine gastropod Crepidula fornicata. Invertebrate Biology 141: e12383.
Walsh AN, Mazzotta MG, Nelson TF, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2022) Synergy between Sunlight, Titanium Dioxide, and Microbes Enhances Cellulose Diacetate Degradation in the Ocean. Environmental Science & Technology 56: 13810−13819.
Leistenschneider C, Le Bohec C, Eisen O, Houstin A, Neff S, Primpke S, Zitterbart DP, Burkhardt-Holm P, Gerdts G (2022) No evidence of microplastic ingestion in emperor penguin chicks (Aptenodytes forsteri) from the Atka Bay colony (Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica). Sci Total Environ 851: 158314.
Landrigan PJ, Raps H, Symeonides C, Chiles T, Cropper M, Enck J, Hahn ME, Kumar P, Mustapha A, Park Y, Spring M, Stegeman J, Thompson R, Wang Z, Wolff M, Yousuf A, Dunlop S (2022) Announcing the Minderoo – Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health. Annals of Global Health 88(1): 73, 1–9.
James BD, de Vos A, Aluwihare L, Youngs S, Ward CP, Nelson RK, Michel APM, Hahn ME, Reddy CM (2022) Divergent Forms of Pyroplastic: Lessons Learned from the M/V X-Press Pearl Ship Fire. ACS Environmental Au 2 (5): 467–479.
James BD, Hahn ME, Reddy CM (2022) Biomaterials Science Can Offer a Valuable Second Opinion on Nature's Plastic Malady. Environ Sci Technol. 56(3): 1475-1477
Mazzotta MG, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2022) Rapid Degradation of Cellulose Diacetate by Marine Microbes. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 9: 37-41.
de Vos A, Aluwihare L, Youngs S, DiBenedetto MH, Ward CP, Michel APM, Colson BC, Mazzotta MG, Walsh AN, Nelson RK, Reddy CM, James BD (2022) The M/V X-Press Pearl Nurdle Spill: Contamination of Burnt Plastic and Unburnt Nurdles along Sri Lanka’s Beaches. ACS Environmental Au. 2(2): 128–135. (Press release)
2021
Blevins MG, Allen HL, Colson BC, Cook AM, Greenbaum AZ, Hemami SS, Hollmann J, Kim E, LaRocca AA, Markoski KA, Miraglia P, Mott VL, Robberson WM, Santos JA, Sprachman MM, Swierk P, Tate S, Witinski MF, Kratchman LB, Michel APM (2021) Field-Portable Microplastic Sensing in Aqueous Environments: A Perspective on Emerging Techniques. Sensors (Basel) 21(10): 3532.
Amaral-Zettler LA, Zettler ER, Mincer TJ, Klaassen MA, Gallager SM (2021) Biofouling impacts on polyethylene density and sinking in coastal waters: A macro/micro tipping point? Water Res 201: 117289.
Belden ER, Kazantzis NK, Reddy CM, Kite-Powell H, Timko MT, Italiani E, Herschbach DR (2021) Thermodynamic feasibility of shipboard conversion of marine plastics to blue diesel for self-powered ocean cleanup. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 118.
Walsh AN, Reddy CM, Niles SF, McKenna AM, Hansel CM, Ward CP (2021) Plastic Formulation is an Emerging Control of Its Photochemical Fate in the Ocean. Environmental Science & Technology 55: 12383-12392.
See WHOI News Release.
Nelson TF, Reddy CM, Ward CP (2021) Product Formulation Controls the Impact of Biofouling on Consumer Plastic Photochemical Fate in the Ocean. Environ Sci Technol 55: 8898-8907.
Colson, BC and Michel, APM (2021) Flow-through quantification of microplastics using impedance spectroscopy. ACS Sensors 6: 238–244.
Farrington JW (2021) Reflections about three influential Ambio articles impacting environmental biogeochemistry research and knowledge. Ambio 50: 539-543.
2020
Ward CP, Reddy CM (2020) Opinion: We need better data about the environmental persistence of plastic goods. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117: 14618-14621.
How Long Does Plastic Persist in the Ocean? (WHOI Insight piece)
Michel APM, Morrison AE, Colson BC, Pardis WA, Moya XA, Harb CC, White HK (2020) Quantum cascade laser-based reflectance spectroscopy: a robust approach for the classification of plastic type. Optics Express 28: 17741-17756.
Michel APM, Morrison AE, Preston VL, Marx CT, Colson BC, White HK (2020) Rapid Identification of Marine Plastic Debris via Spectroscopic Techniques and Machine Learning Classifiers. Environmental Science and Technology 54: 10630–10637.
Landrigan PJ, Stegeman JJ, Fleming LE, Allemand D, Anderson DM, Backer LC, Brucker-Davis F, Chevalier N, Corra L, Czerucka D, Bottein M-YD, Demeneix B, Depledge M, Deheyn DD, Dorman CJ, Fénichel P, Fisher S, Gaill F, Galgani F, Gaze WH, Giuliano L, Grandjean P, Hahn ME, Hamdoun A, Hess P, Judson B, Laborde A, McGlade J, Mu J, Mustapha A, Neira M, Noble RT, Pedrotti ML, Reddy C, Rocklöv J, Scharler UM, Shanmugam H, Taghian G, van de Water JAJM, Vezzulli L, Weihe P, Zeka A, Raps H, Rampal P. Human Health and Ocean Pollution. Annals of Global Health. 2020; 86(1): 151, 1–64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2831
2019
Ward CP, Armstrong CJ, Walsh AN, Jackson JH, Reddy CM (2019) Sunlight Converts Polystyrene to Carbon Dioxide and Dissolved Organic Carbon. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 6: 669-674.
Sunlight degrades polystyrene faster than expected
October 10, 2019, WHOI News Release
Hanke UM, Ward CP, Reddy CM (2019) Leveraging Lessons Learned from Black Carbon Research to Study Plastics in the Environment. Environmental Science & Technology 53: 6599-6600.
Previous years
Zettler, E. R., Mincer, T. J. and Amaral-Zettler, L. A. (2013). Life in the "plastisphere": microbial communities on plastic marine debris. Environmental Science & Technology 47, 7137-46, 10.1021/es401288x.
https://doi.org/10.1021/es401288x
Hirai H, Takada H, Ogata Y, Yamashita R, Mizukawa K, Saha M, Kwan C, Moore C, Gray H, Laursen D, Zettler ER, Farrington JW, Reddy CM, Peacock EE, Ward MW (2011) Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches. Mar Pollut Bull 62: 1683-1692.
Moret-Ferguson S, Law KL, Proskurowski G, Murphy EK, Peacock EE, Reddy CM (2010) The size, mass, and composition of plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Mar Pollut Bull 60: 1873-1878.
Law KL, Moret-Ferguson S, Maximenko NA, Proskurowski G, Peacock EE, Hafner J, Reddy CM (2010) Plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic subtropical gyre. Science 329: 1185-1188.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/329/5996/1185
related Oceanus article: Plastic Particles Permeate the Atlantic
Wilber RJ (1987) Plastic in the North Atlantic. Oceanus Fall 1987, pp. 61-68.
Carpenter EJ, Smith KL, Jr. (1972) Plastics on the Sargasso sea surface. Science 175: 1240-1241.
Carpenter EJ, Anderson SJ, Harvey GR, Miklas HP, Peck BB (1972) Polystyrene spherules in coastal waters. Science 178: 749-750.