CONCENTRATIONS OF MICRO-PLASTICS IN MARINE AREAS

Welcome dear readers of this prestigious platform, in our previous installment we addressed the growing increase of solid materials produced in our homes due to the current pandemic, which has somehow forced us to generate an exponential growth of these materials.

In this sense and continuing with this line of writing, we will be addressing the accumulation of micro-plastic materials in coastal areas, and analyze their impact on the health of the species that live there.

Talking about microplastics is a topic that has come to the forefront due to the increase that these substances have been presenting, being the coastal areas the most damaged as a result of these compounds.

In this sense, and in order to instruct the reader in the understanding of these substances, we will approach the classification assumed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States, so that microplastic materials are small pieces of plastic that have the ability to pollute the environment and are assumed to all those that have a diameter greater than or equal to 5 mm, and which can come from clothing, fishing tackle, industrial materials and plastics commonly used in our homes.

Under this concept there are two variants of these materials, which we will call micro-plastics of primary origin, all those that come from prefabricated processes used in everyday products, on the other hand, the micro-plastics of secondary origin, are those that derive from the deterioration of those larger plastic materials, such as the materials accumulated in the so-called garbage island, which are concentrated in lake or aquatic areas.

As mentioned above, the concentrations of these micro-particles due to their accumulation and ability to enter our food chain, has become an environmental problem with social and health repercussions. Hence, the TecnAtox research group of the URV has investigated the contamination of these marine particles, taking as a control point the coast of Tarragona, in Spain, which for the researchers is an ideal place to start with the survey of the research, firstly because it is an industrial area, with great urbanism and highly touristic, a feature that provides the ability to concentrate plastic particles on a micro scale.

Through research the group of researchers has managed to quantify and characterize the morphological measurement, as well as the composition of the particles found on the coastal areas of Tarragona, achieving a comprehensive study that allows to evaluate the presence of substances at the level of sand, seawater and sediments present on the beaches.

This will provide a broader view of the problems caused by the presence of these particles on coastal systems.

In the study, samples have been collected in an approximate 3 kilometers of linear surface, including 6 samples of underwater sediments and 7 samples of beach area, generating surprising results where the concentrations of plastic materials exceed 1.3 particles per cubic meter of seawater, 10.7 micro particles of plastics per kilogram of sand and 32.4 particles per kilogram of dry marine sediment.

In addition, the presence of polyester is usually found in higher concentrations in the deep sea, which further intensifies the problem on an environmental scale.

In the opinion of Joaquim Rovira, active researcher of the project:

For this reason, coastal areas are nothing more than a reservoir and in times of storms the substances are internalized into our oceans, which makes them difficult to trace and increases marine damage due to trophic accumulation in aquatic species.

Talking about plastic materials today is a problem that affects us all and that undoubtedly have a negative impact on the quality of the species, generating a great loss of biodiversity in addition to the aesthetic damage that these can cause.

For nobody is a secret that floating species are shared as zooplankton which can be consumed by species such as jellyfish, where these in turn are consumed by larger species that eventually end up being part of our consumption mechanism and where the toxins generated by these products end up causing damage to our health.

Hence the need to reduce the use and production of plastic materials or at least control their arrival and stay in aquiferous areas. In this sense, if you thought this research was timely, I invite you to leave your perspective in the comments section.

[1] FAO. 2017. Microplastics in fisheries and aquaculture. Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper 615. Article: Online Access

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