plastics poisoning our oceans

[John N]

And nothing we can do about it by the looks of it.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Plastics 'poisoning world's seas'

[broady]

It's truly a sad state of affairs - man has a lot to answer for

Graham

[triplefin]

I think its only a matter of time before we find it in the food chain. If the microscopic particles are being ingested by filter filters which in turn get eaten by others etc etc then it wont belong before it will be found in our fish, crabs etc. The question will be in what quantities and how harmful to humans. In future decades maybe freshwater fish in farmed enviroments will only be really safe as we have more chance of controlling levels of pollution.

[Finless]

I say the/a clip on TV about that last night. Very sad and not a little shocking to find that plastic residue was found in EVERY handful of sand taken from "pristine sites". Let alone what is found in more reconisable states insides animals guts.

The most worrying bit was the toxins being released into the environment ......... I had always thought of the usual plastic as being a very stable material and not prone to the leaching of toxins.

[triplefin]

Originally Posted by Finless

I
The most worrying bit was the toxins being released into the environment ......... I had always thought of the usual plastic as being a very stable material and not prone to the leaching of toxins.

But we were warned about plastic leaching toxins into liquids such as soft drinks and 'drinking water' when stored for periods of time some years ago. I believe they improved this situation with the manufacturing of plastics but it came at a cost. Many people will only have drinks from bottles that are glass.

[Adrian Kelland]

Originally Posted by triplefin

I think its only a matter of time before we find it in the food chain. If the microscopic particles are being ingested by filter filters which in turn get eaten by others etc etc then it wont belong before it will be found in our fish, crabs etc. The question will be in what quantities and how harmful to humans. In future decades maybe freshwater fish in farmed enviroments will only be really safe as we have more chance of controlling levels of pollution.

Jane,

I'm pretty sure I have already read reports that small amount of plastics are already being found in fish.

Adrian

[Paul Oliver]

I was horrified to see how Leatherback Turtles around the UK are killed as they eat plastic bags floating in the sea mistaking them for their normal diet of Jellyfish.

I think this was on a one off of Seashore or something like that a few months ago.