A diver who filmed a huge “slick” of plastic floating in clear waters in Indonesia said he has “never seen anything like this scale” of ocean pollution before.
Anna-Lena Janzen and Nick Kilvert writing for abc.net.au:
Murdoch University lead researcher Elitza Germanov said microplastics — particles smaller than five millimetres long — contain toxic chemicals that, if ingested, could alter biological processes in the animals, such as growth, development and reproduction. "We are still trying to understand the magnitude of the issue," Ms Germanov said. "Microplastic contamination has the potential to further reduce the population numbers of these species, many of which are long-lived and have few offspring throughout their lives."
Anna-Lena Janzen and Nick Kilvert writing for abc.net.au:
Murdoch University lead researcher Elitza Germanov said microplastics — particles smaller than five millimetres long — contain toxic chemicals that, if ingested, could alter biological processes in the animals, such as growth, development and reproduction. "We are still trying to understand the magnitude of the issue," Ms Germanov said. "Microplastic contamination has the potential to further reduce the population numbers of these species, many of which are long-lived and have few offspring throughout their lives."
Nanoplastics – little bits of plastic, smaller than a pencil eraser – are turning up everywhere and in everything, including the ocean, farmland, food, and human bodies. Now a new term is gaining attention: nanoplastics. These particles are even tinier than microplastics, and that's a huge problem.
