Polymer fragments smaller than a grain of rice, called microplastics, have been found in water samples from 53 waterways in Pennsylvania including anglers' beloved Tulpehocken Creek and Blue Marsh Lake, environmental advocates at PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center said in a new report. Collected from January through June 2020 from waters that in some places seemed clean and clear, the sampling suggests microplastics are ubiquitous in the state. The samples were tested for four types of plastics: fibers, fragments, films or microbeads. Microplastic is plastic less than 5mm in length. Volunteers used protocols developed in a NOAA partnership. Research was aimed at determining the presence of microplastics in waterways. The results were analyzed at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.