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Communities along the coast of northern Spain fear an ecological catastrophe. More than a thousand bags of plastic balls called nurdles – or plastic pellets – fell from the ship Toconao, operated by the Danish company Maersk, on December 8th. Millions of plastic balls now cover the Spanish coast, writes the BBC.
Hundreds of volunteers are working to eliminate them in northwest Galicia, and the alarm has also been declared on the Asturian coast. Six containers are believed to have fallen from the Toconao about 80 km west of the Portuguese town of Viano do Castelo. One of them contained at least 26,000 kilograms of plastic pellets, while the others contained goods such as cling film, tires or tomato sauce.
Photo: Mapy.cz, Seznam Zpravy
Galicia is one of the northern regions of Spain.
Since December 13, dozens of coastal communities have experienced a “white tide” of balls gradually washing ashore. The most affected areas are around the Galician port city of Noia. Further south in Vigo, fishermen search for sacks of pasta floating in the Atlantic, although ocean currents complicate the situation. Prosecutors have launched an investigation and there are fears the oil spill could soon spread further east along the northern coast towards the Basque Country.
Maersk spokesman Rainer Horn said in a statement that the shipping company regretted the incident and would investigate it. The tiny plastic beads used to make common goods such as plastic bottles are less than five millimeters in diameter, making them very difficult to remove. Volunteers combed the sand and sifted through the water to find the plastic balls. The regional government in Galicia has accused the Socialist-led Spanish government of failing for two weeks to inform local authorities and put a marine pollution plan into effect. However, the government insists it has informed coastal authorities.
According to authorities, PET plastic pellets are not toxic. Still, there are concerns that the situation could endanger wildlife and the environment and pose a risk to the area’s fishing industry. At the event, the environmental group said it would file a complaint against the Danish shipping company. Nurdles can be eaten by animals, which can subsequently lead to the creation of plastics in both their digestive tracts and in humans. PET is not biodegradable and any granules that cannot be removed will remain in the environment for centuries.
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