Vidal-Abad, Alejandro;
Casal, Miguel A;
Rey-Aguino, Jose Manuel;
Pichel-Gonzalez, Alejandra;
Solana-Munoz, Andrea;
Poza-Nogueiras, Veronica;
Varela, Zulema;
... Fernandez-Sanles, Alba; + view all
(2024)
Case report of plastic nurdles pollution in Galicia (NW Atlantic) following the Toconao's spill in December 2023: The VIEIRA Collaborative.
Marine Pollution Bulletin
, 203
, Article 116442. 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116442.
Preview |
Text
vidal_mpb_2024.pdf - Published Version Download (3MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Plastic nurdles pose a significant environmental threat due to recurrent accidental spills into marine ecosystems. This report examines the nurdle pollution over the 1498 km of the Galician coastline (Spain) following the spill of 25 t of nurdles into the Northwest Atlantic after the loss of six containers from the Toconao vessel in December 2023. This accident highlights the urgent need for proactive, effective measures in maritime transport to prevent and mitigate such environmental catastrophes. The complexity of nurdle dispersion challenges the evaluation of their fate at sea, and the potential long-term consequences on the marine ecosystem and food web remain uncertain and yet to be investigated. This report also presents the VIEIRA collaborative and underscores the critical role of citizen-led initiatives in responding to such environmental disasters, and advocates for efficient policy reforms, involving cross-border collaboration. Furthermore, we call for greater international cooperation to underpin effective regulatory frameworks to address the growing hazard of plastic nurdle pollution worldwide.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Case report of plastic nurdles pollution in Galicia (NW Atlantic) following the Toconao's spill in December 2023: The VIEIRA Collaborative |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116442 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116442 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Environmental Sciences, Marine & Freshwater Biology, Environmental Sciences & Ecology, Plastic pellets, Nurdles, Toconao, Galicia, Northwest Atlantic, Microplastics, Ecological accident, MICROPLASTICS, DEBRIS, INGESTION, PELLETS, IMPACT, FISH |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science > Population Science and Experimental Medicine UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science > Population Science and Experimental Medicine > MRC Unit for Lifelong Hlth and Ageing |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10194151 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
