Plastic debris is one of the most serious environmental challenges our oceans face. It affects marine organisms, habitats and ecosystems, as well as the health and well-being of people, particularly those dependent on the oceans. Smaller plastic particles are especially dangerous, because they are easily ingested and can enter organs and body fluids of organisms and thus propagate up the food chain. The fact that these particles are also co-contaminated with various chemicals and other pollutants makes accurate assessments of the effects and toxicity of plastic pollution challenging.
A group of scientists led by the IAEA has recently published a comprehensive review on the effects on fish of ‘virgin’ micro- and nano-plastics – tiny plastic particles such as resin pellets used in plastics manufacturing. The review, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology in March 2020, revealed that in one third of all studies assessed, such virgin plastic particles were indeed affecting biological functions in fish, such as their behavior and neurological functions, as well as their metabolism, intestinal permeability and intestinal microbiome diversity.
“Accurate monitoring is crucial for understanding the effect these particles have on organisms as well as for designing effective environmental management and mitigation strategies,” said Marc Metian, Research Scientist at the IAEA Radioecology Laboratory and one of the co-authors of the research paper.
Some of these strategies, such as accurate assessments of cellular- to ecosystem-level impacts, or the production of new, degradable plastic materials that are more environmentally friendly, could involve nuclear and isotopic techniques that the IAEA can provide support with. Identifying those strategies will be the next step.
