LUIS IVAN SAUCEDO

Arizona State University

Luissaucedo@arizona.edu

Luis Saucedo is an incoming junior into the Arizona State University Biological Sciences Program with an emphasis on Biomedical Science. Luis was born in Nogales, AZ in 1990 and lived in Mexico for 5 years before his family immigrated to the United States and relocated to Phoenix, AZ. Luis served in the United States Navy for 10 years and transitioned into semiconductor manufacturing before returning to school to honor his mother, who lost her battle to cancer. While at Phoenix College, he discovered biology as a passion via his microbiology instructor and now mentor Dr. Robin Cotter. He is currently working on his prerequisite courses for medical school while assisting with research and working part-time at Phoenix College. Luis ultimately hopes to contribute to the medical field via research as a pathologist or immunologist. During his free time, Luis spends time with his wife, Krystal, and puppy, Bailey, and enjoys cooking, hiking, and rooting for the Phoenix Suns.

⊲ PROJECT

Detection of Microplastics from Different Stages of the Wastewater Treatment Process

As people go about their day, it would be difficult to not come across a material that has been proliferated in modern society since the post-World War 2 era: plastic. According to Avery Hildebrand, Public Land & Outdoor Recreation Program Manager at Conservation Minnesota (2019), over 8 million metric tons of plastic had been produced up until 2019 with most of that plastic being discarded. These plastics then break down into smaller pieces and are able to spread into the ecosystem, act as a reservoir for harmful pathogens, and potentially be consumed by living organisms. As a contaminant of emerging concern (CEC), microplastics have been found in sewage treatment facility effluent samples with some estimates around 6.5 x10⁷ particles per day (Kang et al., 2018). Such an estimate shows that one of our most important resources, water, can be a harbinger of toxic microplastics in the near and long-term future and can pose a serious health risk to human life (Campanale et al., 2020). Thus, our research question looks to answer what types of CECs (chemical and biological) are present in different stages of the water treatment process at a local wastewater treatment plant in Surprise, AZ. It is hypothesized that there will be a reduction in microplastic concentration as water is treated through different stages.