Microbeads act as sponges for toxins, Mason said, and can disrupt the metabolisms of organisms that eat them.

Mason and leaders at the Alliance for the Great Lakes called on consumers to stop buying items containing microbeads and to curb purchases of other items made from plastic such as bottled water and plastic utensils.

Five states, including Illinois, are considering legislation to ban the sale of items containing microbeads. Illinois also is among the states considering fees for retailers use of plastic bags or banning their use all together.

Researchers also looked at what is washing up on Great Lakes shores using data from the Alliance for the Great Lakes' Adopt-A-Beach program, which uses volunteers to gather, count and categorize trash found on Great Lakes beaches.

Dr. Timothy Hoellein, assistant professor of biology at Loyola University, examined data from five Lake Michigan beaches including the Marquette Park beach in Gary. Hoellein and his team found the majority of trash came from beachgoers, with most — 75 percent to 95 percent — coming from smoking-related and plastic food-related items.

"It doesn't look like what we found in the rivers," Hoellein said. "It looks more like what we've seen in ocean beaches, especially those geared toward tourists."

Hoellein said the issue then becomes how to address the problem. Studies in Brazil showed adding ashtrays to beaches reduced smoking-related trash, he said. He pointed to legislation underway to curb plastic use as another possible option.

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