Bermudez and Swarzenski reported a classification scheme for the size of microplastics. The authors are from International Atomic Energy Agency and USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Size Range
Term
Compares to
0.02 to 0.2 microns (µm)
femto-size
virus
0.2 to 2 microns
pico-size
bacteria
2 to 20 microns
nano-size
flagellate
20 to 200 microns
micro-size
diatom
200 to 2,000 microns (0.02 to 0.2 cm; 0.2 to 2 mm))
meso-size
amphipod
0.2 to 20 cm
macro-size
larval fish
20 to 200 cm (2 m)
mega-size
where:
• 1 micron is a micrometer or 10^(-6) meters.
A previous classification has fewer categories:
Size Range
Term
0.001 to 1 micron
nanoplastic
1 to 1000 micron
microplastic
1 to 10 mm (1 cm)
mesoplastic
> 1 cm
macroplastic
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