Ocean Life: Plastic's Impact And Devastating Effects

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental issues today. Plastic has become an integral part of our lives, from healthcare to transportation, but its improper disposal is causing irreversible damage to our oceans and marine life. Plastic waste in the ocean is a global crisis, with billions of pounds of plastic making up about 40% of the world's ocean surfaces. Marine animals such as whales, turtles, seabirds, and dolphins are suffering the consequences, often mistaking plastic for food or getting entangled in it, which leads to starvation, injury, and death. The impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems is devastating, and it is essential that we take urgent action to address this issue before it's too late.

Plastic ingestion by marine animals

Plastic ingestion can lead to intestinal injury and death, and it transfers plastic up the food chain to larger fish, marine mammals, and eventually humans. A recent study found plastic in the guts of a quarter of fish sold in California markets, mostly in the form of plastic microfibers.

Sea turtles often mistake plastic for food, choking on it or believing they are full and subsequently starving. Tragically, research indicates that half of the world's sea turtles have ingested plastic, and new studies find that plastic pollution is so pervasive on many beaches that it is affecting their reproduction.

Plastic waste kills up to a million seabirds a year. When ingested, plastic takes up room in their stomachs, causing starvation. Scientists estimate that 60% of all seabird species have eaten plastic, and this figure is predicted to rise to 99% by 2050.

Dolphins are highly intelligent and unlikely to eat plastic, but they are susceptible to contamination through their prey, which has ingested plastic.

Humans are not immune to the threat of plastic ingestion. While plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose, it can break down into tiny particles that end up in the seafood we eat. Microplastics have been found in people's blood, lungs, and feces. Scientists are urgently trying to determine the extent of the harm caused by microplastics in humans.

Plastic entanglement of marine animals

Plastic entanglement is a significant threat to marine life, causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of marine animals every year. Large items of plastic, such as fishing gear, six-pack rings, and plastic bottles, can entangle marine mammals and fish, restricting their movement, causing starvation, injury, and vulnerability to predators. Discarded fishing nets can also smother and break coral reefs, hindering their healthy growth.

Marine animals of all sizes, from large whales to small crabs, are vulnerable to plastic entanglement. Whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, and sea turtles are commonly entangled in plastic debris as they swim or while on beaches. For smaller animals, such as sea turtles, seals, and dolphins, entanglement can result in immediate drowning if the plastic is large or heavy enough. Larger whales may not drown immediately but face risks of exhaustion and infection. Entanglement is considered a primary cause of human-induced mortality in many whale species, especially right whales, humpback whales, and gray whales.

The impact of plastic entanglement on marine life is not limited to physical restriction. Entangled animals may also suffer physical trauma and infections from the gear cutting into their flesh. Additionally, they may become more susceptible to vessel strikes as their ability to avoid them is impaired.

The process of freeing entangled marine animals is complex and dangerous, requiring trained professionals. Responders use specialized tools and techniques, often from small inflatable rescue boats, to safely approach and disentangle the animals. In some cases, satellite tracking is employed to relocate whales that cannot be disentangled during the initial response.

The prevention of plastic entanglement in marine animals is crucial, and individuals can play a role by not leaving fishing gear or trash behind when fishing or boating and by participating in community clean-up efforts.

Microplastics entering the food chain

Microplastics are a serious threat to marine and terrestrial ecosystems and human health. They are defined as plastic particles smaller than 5mm. Due to their microscopic size, microplastics are easily consumed by wildlife and can enter the human food chain.

Microplastics can be directly ingested or can be consumed via trophic transfer. They have been found in zooplankton, chaetognatha, ichtyoplankton, copepods, salps, polychaetes, crustaceans, echinoderms, bivalves, fish, seabirds, and mammals.

Microplastics can also carry toxic chemicals and additives, such as PCBs, organochlorine compounds, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, DDT and HCH insecticides, and heavy metals, which can be harmful to humans. These chemicals can be up to a million times more concentrated on microplastics than in the surrounding water.

Microplastics can also carry microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria such as Vibrio, Escherichia coli, and Aeromonas salmonicida. The consumption of seafood that has ingested microplastics can increase human exposure to these microorganisms.

The effects of microplastics on human health are still relatively unknown. They are believed to induce oxidative stress, disrupt the energy balance, metabolism, and immune system, and may have carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.

The presence of microplastics in the human food chain highlights the importance of addressing plastic pollution and developing standard protocols for their identification, quantification, and characterization.

Plastic pollution's impact on marine ecosystems

Plastic pollution is having a devastating impact on marine ecosystems. Plastic waste is present in all corners of the ocean, from the deepest point of the Mariana Trench to the shorelines of every continent. It is estimated that up to 13 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, threatening marine life and ecosystems.

Plastic pollution affects marine life in various ways, from entanglement and injury to ingestion and toxic contamination. Large items of plastic, such as fishing gear, six-pack rings, and plastic bottles, can entangle marine mammals and fish, leading to starvation, injury, and increased vulnerability to predators. Discarded fishing nets can also smother and damage coral reefs, disrupting their healthy growth.

Smaller plastic fragments can float on the water's surface, often being mistaken for food by seabirds and other marine species. This leads to issues such as suffocation, starvation, and toxic contamination over time. Microplastics, which are invisible to the naked eye, are easily consumed by marine life and can adsorb toxins, transferring them to the fatty tissues of the organisms that ingest them. These toxins can then be passed up the food chain, affecting larger fish, marine mammals, and even human seafood eaters.

The impact of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems is widespread and devastating. Research indicates that half of all sea turtles worldwide have ingested plastic, often leading to starvation as their stomachs feel full. Plastic pollution on beaches also affects turtle reproduction rates by altering the temperature of the sand where incubation occurs. Additionally, plastic waste is contributing to the decline of coral reefs, with studies showing that corals that come into contact with plastic have an 89% chance of contracting diseases.

The effects of plastic pollution extend beyond the individual organisms that ingest or become entangled in plastic. It is estimated that at least 800 species worldwide are affected by marine debris, with plastic comprising up to 80% of this litter. The problem is so pervasive that scientists predict that by 2050, the weight of ocean plastics will exceed the combined weight of all the fish in the seas.

Human health risks from plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is a human health crisis. At every stage of its lifecycle, plastic poses distinct risks to human health, arising from exposure to both plastic particles themselves and associated chemicals.

Extraction and transportation of fossil feedstocks for plastic release an array of toxic substances into the air and water, including those with known health impacts like cancer, neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, and impairment of the immune system.

The refining and production of plastic resins and additives release carcinogenic and other highly toxic substances into the air, with effects including impairment of the nervous system, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, leukemia, and genetic impacts like low birth weight.

The use of plastic products leads to the ingestion and/or inhalation of large amounts of both microplastic particles and hundreds of toxic substances with known or suspected carcinogenic, developmental, or endocrine-disrupting impacts.

All plastic waste management technologies (including incineration, co-incineration, gasification, and pyrolysis) result in the release of toxic metals, such as lead and mercury, organic substances (dioxins and furans), acid gases, and other toxic substances into the air, water, and soils. These technologies lead to direct and indirect exposure to toxic substances for workers and nearby communities, including through inhalation of contaminated air, direct contact with contaminated soil or water, and ingestion of food grown in a polluted environment.

Once plastic reaches the environment in the form of macro- or microplastics, it contaminates and accumulates in food chains through agricultural soils, terrestrial and aquatic food chains, and the water supply. This environmental plastic can easily leach toxic additives or concentrate toxins already in the environment, making them bioavailable again for direct or indirect human exposure. As plastic particles degrade, new surface areas are exposed, allowing continued leaching of additives. Microplastics entering the human body via direct exposures through ingestion or inhalation can lead to an array of health impacts, including inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and necrosis, which are linked to an array of negative health outcomes including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammation, auto-immune conditions, neurodegenerative diseases, and stroke.

The health risks of plastic pollution have been ignored for too long, and they must be at the forefront of all decisions on plastics moving forward.

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