Student Matt Keller presents microplastics findings to Eastport‑South Manor board

Matt Keller, a high‑school research student, presented his team’s project comparing microplastics in lab‑grown versus naturally sourced clams and said the team identified cellophane in at least one natural‑source sample.

The presentation, introduced by the district’s director of science, highlighted the growth of the district’s science research program (from 56 to 93 students) and noted that students competed in regional contests and at a Brookhaven National Laboratory poster session. Keller said the team collected about 10 clams from the Shinnecock Reservation and 10 from a lab aquaculture site, dissolved tissue, stained samples and used spectroscopy at Brookhaven to match spectra against a plastics library.

Keller cautioned that the study had limitations: sample size was small and laboratory materials might contribute contamination. “A limitation to that was the fact that the equipment may have been new or the plastic particles…could have been lost in the filtration process,” he said. School staff and the director of science acknowledged those caveats during questions from the board.

Keller said the team plans to increase sample sizes, sample additional water bodies and expand to other organisms; the district will celebrate student achievements at an awards ceremony set for June 11. The district’s science director said the program’s expansion gives more students the opportunity to participate in authentic research, and he listed student awards and semifinalists from recent fairs.