News Link: Molluscs Contain Microplastics At Higher Level – By MK (Editor)
This research was conducted by researchers from the Hull York Medical School and the University of Hull. In order to investigate the levels of micro plastic contamination globally in fish and shell fish. The researchers observed more than fifty studies between the years 2014 and 2020.
Scientists are still trying to understand the health implications for humans consuming fish and shellfish contaminated with these tiny particles of waste plastic. Which finds its ways into waterways and oceans through waste mismanagement.
Evangelos Danopoulos, a postgraduate student at Hull York Medical School said: “No-one yet fully understands the full impact of microplastics on the human body. But early evidence from other studies suggest they do cause harm.
“A critical step in understanding the full impact on human consumption is in first fully establishing what levels of microplastics humans are ingesting. We can start to do this by looking at how much seafood and fish consumed measuring the number of MPs in these creatures.”
The study shows microplastic content was 0-10.5 micro plastics per gram (MPs/g) in molluscs. 0.1-8.6 MPs/g in crustaceans, 0-2.9 MPs/g in fish.
China, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the US are amongst the largest consumers of molluscs, then Europe and the UK.
Molluscs from the coasts of Asia are having heavy contamination. Researchers suggesting that these areas are heavier in pollution by plastic.
“Microplastics have been found in various parts of organisms such as the intestines and the liver. Sea food species like oysters, mussels and scallops are consumed whole. In larger fish and mammals only parts are consumed. Therefore, understanding the microplastic contamination of specific body parts, and their consumption by humans, is key.”
The expectation of Plastic waste generated worldwide is going to triple; 155-265 million metric tonnes per year by 2060. Once the plastic finds its way into oceans, lakes, and rivers it has the potential to end up as microplastic inside species such as shellfish, fish, and marine mammals.
The research points to the need to standardize methods of measuring microplastic contamination. So that different measurements can be more readily compared. Researchers said more data required from different parts of the world to understand how the issue varies between different oceans, seas, and waterways.
Also, Read More News In Environment Segment
News Link: Molluscs Contain Microplastics At Higher Level – By MK (Editor)
