|
Ocean Plastics Linked to Washing Synthetic Clothes |
|
Dr Browne, a member of the US-based research network National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, said the tiny plastic was a concern because evidence showed that it was making its way into the food chain. "Once the plastics had been eaten, it transferred from [the animals'] stomachs to their circulation system and actually accumulated in their cells," he told BBC News.
In order to identify how widespread the presence of microplastic was on shorelines, the team took samples from 18 beaches around the globe, including the UK, India and Singapore. "We found that there was no sample from around the world that did not contain pieces of microplastic." Dr Browne added: "Most of the plastic seemed to be fibrous. When we looked at the different types of polymers we were finding, we were finding that polyester, acrylic and polyamides (nylon) were the major ones that we were finding." The data also showed that the concentration of microplastic was greatest in areas near large urban centres.
Click here for the complete BBC article. |