According to a study by Dutch scientists, the effects of plastics extend to the lower orders of the food chain. Lugworms, sand-hoppers and even barnacles were found to have ingested miniscule pieces of plastic, some even narrower than a human hair.
Most people are familiar with the problems posed to larger creatures, with plastics having been found in the digestion systems of creatures such as dolphins, whales, seals, turtles and sea birds.
Autopsies on dead creatures have shown that, on occasions, death arises directly from blockage caused by the plastic items.
The Dutch study confirmed the threat, with a report on 560 fulmars found dead on the seas or coasts of eight European countries.
Autopsies found plastic items in the stomachs of nine out of 10 of the seabirds, the average count being 44 scraps of plastic material. |
