<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/29/nurdles-plastic-pellets-environmental-ocean-spills-toxic-waste-not-classified-hazardous>
"When the X-Press Pearl container ship caught fire and sank in the Indian Ocean
in May, Sri Lanka was terrified that the vessel’s 350 tonnes of heavy fuel oil
would spill into the ocean, causing an environmental disaster for the country’s
pristine coral reefs and fishing industry.
Classified by the UN as Sri Lanka’s “worst maritime disaster”, the biggest
impact was not caused by the heavy fuel oil. Nor was it the hazardous chemicals
on board, which included nitric acid, caustic soda and methanol. The most
“significant” harm, according to the UN, came from the spillage of 87
containers full of lentil-sized plastic pellets: nurdles.
Since the disaster, nurdles have been washing up in their billions along
hundreds of miles of the country’s coastline, and are expected to make landfall
across Indian Ocean coastlines from Indonesia and Malaysia to Somalia. In some
places they are up to 2 metres deep. They have been found in the bodies of dead
dolphins and the mouths of fish. About 1,680 tonnes of nurdles were released
into the ocean. It is the largest plastic spill in history, according to the UN
report.
Nurdles, the colloquial term for “pre-production plastic pellets”, are the
little-known building block for all our plastic products. The tiny beads can be
made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and other
plastics. Released into the environment from plastic plants or when shipped
around the world as raw material to factories, they will sink or float,
depending on the density of the pellets and if they are in freshwater or
saltwater.
They are often mistaken for food by seabirds, fish and other wildlife. In the
environment, they fragment into nanoparticles whose hazards are more complex.
They are the second-largest source of micropollutants in the ocean, by weight,
after tyre dust. An astounding 230,000 tonnes of nurdles end up in oceans every
year."
Via Glyn Moody.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
