The beaches of Galicia and Asturia made news with its arrival these days. thousands of plastic pellets It comes from one of six containers that the Toconao ship lost in Portuguese waters about 80 kilometers west of Viana do Castelo on December 8.
What are they?
Pellets, also called “straw” It is the raw material from which plastic products are produced.. According to data from the National Association of Plastic Industries (ANAIP), they are polymers that can be melted and shaped into the desired shape to produce the desired product.
According to the source, the most common way to produce and distribute this raw material is in the form of pellets, also called “pellets”. There are also different types of plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE). ) or polypropylene (PP), among others.
These little balls Their diameter is a few millimetersHowever, according to the same source, they are visible and larger than the average diameter of a grain of sand.
In order to prevent pellets from entering the environment and to make the best use of raw materials, the sector launched the Operation Clean Sweep initiative, in which the Spanish industry participated in 2016 and has received the support of the Ministry of Ecological Transition since 2021.
Aspect a voluntary initiativeIt is based on self-assessment of companies that need to identify points in their facilities where pellet leakage may occur.
What are the risks of throwing it into the sea?
Given their small size, these plastics spread throughout the water column. will definitely be integrated into food chainsAccording to Greenpeace, it pointed out that because they resemble “small eggs”, it is easy for birds and fish to swallow them by mixing them with food.
Ingestion can cause stomach problems and even death in these animals. eventually integrated into the food chain.
It is also very likely that they will gradually turn into microplastics and affect filter-feeding organisms, according to the environmental organization, which warns that these plastic components become more dangerous over time as they also absorb other marine pollutants.
Environmental Prosecutor’s Office He confirmed that materials from the pellet spill affecting the Galicia coast “showed signs of toxicity”. In its report, the expert unit of the prosecutor’s office confirmed that the small white balls that reach the coast of Galicia can have high and long-term toxicity for the marine environment and affect human health.
This Monday, the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the leak, after opening a file to monitor the situation on the 4th. The organization states in its decree that pellets “non-biodegradable” He warns that they have already reached the shores of Portugal and France.
Xunta de Galicia argues that these materials are harmless to health. But experts consulted by this newspaper warn that they have found remains and evidence that prove otherwise, and recommend using gloves and masks to collect them.
The European Commission has stated that “these small plastic particles do not biodegrade and cannot be eliminated” and that they “accumulate in animals, including fish and molluscs, and therefore They are also consumed as food by humans.“, speaks of possible toxicity.
26.3 tons of plastic into the sea
Ship ‘Toconao’ lost up to six containers in Portuguese waters 26.3 tons of plastic pellets spilled into the seain addition to 5 other containers with tires and plastic packaging.
The Central Executive explained that according to the shipowner’s representative, Maersk, what the container carried was “1,050 bags of pellets weighing 25 kilos each”, a total of 26,250 kilos of small plastic balls. It appeared off the coast of Galicia.
The ship ‘Toconao’ also lost a further five containers carrying “tomato paste, tyres, aluminum rods and rolls of plastic packaging”, according to the Government Delegation in Galicia.
They already Dozens of municipalities were affected by this microplastic dischargeGalician beaches in the estuaries of Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa, Muros and Noia, as well as the beaches of the A Coruña and Ferrol region, are turning white.
……….
Contact address of the environmental department:[email protected]