Caring for microplastics: a multi-sited laboratory ethnography

微塑料越来越被研究人员、政策制定者和个人视为严重关注的问题。令人窒息的海鸟和《蓝色星球2》等自然纪录片令人不安的图像引起了公众对这种无处不在的人为污染物的广泛关注，这导致了全世界普遍的“反对塑料”（Mendenhall, 2018； SAPEA, 2019; The Guardian, 13/11/18）。微塑料是由较大的塑料碎片和降解形成的，是“聚合物和添加剂的复杂、动态混合物”（Galloway等人，2017:1），可能对整个生物组织构成物理和化学风险（Rezania等人，2018；Botterell等人，2019）。由于微塑料的这个问题完全是人为的，当我们开始寻找学习照顾和使用微塑料的方法时，迫切需要更多的观点来关注“塑料的物质政治”（参见Gabrys等人，2013;Vogel, 2009; De Wolff, 2017）。为了解决文献中的这一空白，该项目旨在开展微塑料科学的多地点民族志（参见Latour和Woolgar, 1995; Davies, 2013）。从概念上讲，通过女权主义和后人文主义的护理概念（Barad, 2007; Haraway, 2015; Puig de la Bellacasa, 2017），该项目跟踪研究人员，他们正在应对微塑料问题，分别研究微塑料暴露对海洋生物的影响和生物修复的潜力，以便从各种尺度和地点学习，在这些尺度和地点制定了新的关心和照顾微塑料的方法。研究问题1。在微塑性科学的情感和具体实践中，关怀和责任的伦理是如何出现的？2.微塑料是如何在实验室中被认识和感知的？什么主体、实践和材料结合在一起来执行微塑料材料？3.在微塑料科学领域，谁或什么应该负责照顾微塑料的工作？4.科学和政策制定中对微塑料风险的界定可能会受到一种超越人类的护理概念的困扰吗？本研究采用重复深度访谈和多地点参与观察的混合定性方法来回答上述rq。结合这些方法来关注科学是如何共同产生和执行的，在地理和STS文献的相关研究中有先例（见Latour和Woolgar, 1995; Mol, 2002）。该项目将以两个在各自领域开拓微塑料知识的认知社区为基础。首先，由Tamara Galloway教授领导的一个位于埃克塞特的研究小组研究了微塑料暴露的生物效应，特别是海洋生物中生物积累和吸附污染物的影响（Galloway等人，2017）。其次，“设计塑料废物”——伦敦大学学院制造研究所的一个项目，研究“食用塑料”细菌（例如，sakaiensis）在“完全循环[塑料]经济”中的潜力（制造研究所，2018年：在线）。通过持续的参与性观察，我的目标是适应微塑料（科学）的实践和材料（Despret, 2004; Schrader, 2010），并见证研究人员的时间表和节奏，以及在微塑料护理生产中纠缠的塑料/微生物/动物身体的多样性（参见van Dooren和Rose, 2016； Greenhough和Roe， 2019）。通过在本具身研究中对关怀和人类与非人类关系的关注，我希望它将提供解决所提出的研究问题的方法。这里的深度访谈实践为我提供了一个机会，让我可以不那么正式地与我的合作者接触，并“谈论他们的实践”——特别是他们如何应对他们具体生活中的微塑料问题。

Microplastics are increasing seen as matters of serious concern by researchers, policymakers and individuals. The widespread public attention to this ubiquitous anthropogenic pollutant produced by disconcerting images of choking seabirds and nature documentaries such as Blue Planet II has led to a general 'turn against plastic' worldwide (Mendenhall, 2018; SAPEA, 2019; The Guardian, 13/11/18). Formed by the fragmentation and degradation of larger pieces of plastic, microplastics are 'a complex, dynamic mixture of polymers and additives' (Galloway et al., 2017: 1) which may pose physical and chemical risks across the full spectrum of biological organization (Rezania et al., 2018; Botterell et al., 2019). As this problem of microplastics is wholly anthropogenic, there is an urgent need for more perspectives which attend to the 'material politics of plastic' as we begin searching for ways of learning to care for and live with microplastics (cf. Gabrys et al., 2013; Vogel, 2009; De Wolff, 2017). To address this gap in the literature, this project aims to conduct a multi-sited ethnography of microplastic science (cf. Latour and Woolgar, 1995; Davies, 2013). Conceptually working through feminist and post-humanist conceptions of care (Barad, 2007; Haraway, 2015; Puig de la Bellacasa, 2017), this project follows researchers who are responding to the problem of microplastics studying the implications of microplastic exposure on marine organisms and the potential of bioremediation respectively in order to learn from the various scales and sites where novel ways of caring about and caring for microplastics are enacted. Research questions 1.In what ways does an ethics of care and responsibility emerge through the affective and embodied practices of microplastic science? 2.How are microplastics made knowable and sensible in the laboratory? What bodies, practices and materials come-together to perform microplastic materialities? 3.Who or what becomes responsible for the work of caring for microplastics in the sites of microplastics science? 4.How might the framing of microplastic risks in science and policymaking be troubled by a more-than-human conception of care? The proposed research uses a mixed-method qualitative methodology of repeat in-depth interviewing and multi-sited participant observation to answer the above RQs. Combining these methods to attend to how science is co-produced and performed has a precedent in related research across the geographical and STS literatures (see Latour and Woolgar, 1995; Mol, 2002). This project will be grounded with two epistemic communities pioneering microplastic knowledge in their respective fields. First, a research group based in Exeter led by Professor Tamara Galloway studying the biological effects of microplastics exposure particularly the impacts of bioaccumulation and adsorbed contaminants in marine organisms (Galloway et al., 2017). Secondly, 'Designing-out Plastic Waste' - a project in the UCL Institute of Making studying the potential of 'plastic-eating' bacterium (e.g., Indonella sakaiensis) in a 'fully circular [plastic] economy' (Institute of Making, 2018: Online). Through sustained periods of participant observation, I aim to attune to the practices and materialities of microplastic (science) (Despret, 2004; Schrader, 2010) and bear witness to the schedules and rhythms of the researchers as well as the diversity of plastic/microbial/animal bodies entangled in the production of microplastic care (cf. van Dooren and Rose, 2016; Greenhough and Roe, 2019). By foregrounding concerns for care and human-nonhuman relationality in this embodied research, I hope it will provide ways of addressing the proposed research questions. The practice of in-depth interviewing here offers an opportunity for me to engage with my collaborators less formally and 'talk about their practices' - specifically about how they response to the problem of microplastics in their embodied lives.