- Tiny pieces of plastic and man-made fibres are causing
contamination of the world's oceans and beaches, the journal Science has
reported.
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- Even remote and apparently pristine layers of sand and
mud are now composed partly of this microscopic rubbish, broken down from
discarded waste.
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- This is the first assessment of plastic fragments accumulating
in sediments and in the water column itself.
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- It is not yet known what the long-term effects of this
pollution may be.
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- A team led by scientists at the University of Plymouth
took samples from 17 beaches and estuaries around the UK, and analysed
particles which did not appear to be natural.
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- The researchers found that most samples included evidence
of a range of plastics or polymers including nylon, polyester and acrylic.
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- They also found that when creatures such as lugworms
and barnacles fed on the sediments, the plastics turned up inside their
bodies within a few days.
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- To test whether this contamination was getting worse,
the scientists analysed plankton samples taken from survey ships between
Scotland and Iceland since the 1960s - and found that the plastic content
had increased significantly over time.
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- Toxic chemicals
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- Because the team only sampled particles which looked
different from natural sediments, it's believed that the true level of
plastic contamination could be much higher.
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- The lead author of the study, Dr Richard Thompson, said:
"Given the durability of plastics and the disposable nature of many
plastic items, this type of contamination is likely to increase.
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- "Our team is now working to identify the possible
environmental consequences of this new form of contamination."
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- One concern is that toxic chemicals could attach themselves
to the particles which would then help to spread them up the food chain.
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- That research is for the future, but this study suggests
that practically everything really is made of plastic these days - even
the oceans.
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- © BBC MMIV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3691749.stm
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