The lack of global standardization causes a proliferation of monitoring methods that are not coordinated and slow down the pace of sea cleanup
The plastic pollution causes enormous damage to marine animals, which ingest particles and toxic substances and become entangled in products and nets. Due to the complexity and diversity of plastic pollution in the sea, many different monitoring methods exist today. A new study by Tel Aviv University states that through the worldwide unification (standardization) of monitoring and measurement methods, the international fight against plastic pollution in the sea can be optimized. As part of the study, the researchers conducted a literature review of the monitoring and measurement methods accepted in the world, and it shows that plastic pollution is extremely diverse and complex, including a wide variety of materials and particles, in different shapes and sizes, which makes uniform measurement and accurate assessment difficult. That is why it is especially important, according to them, to create a worldwide unification of monitoring methods, in order to enable comparison and exchange of information, as well as the development of effective tools for decision makers.
Huge diversity of plastic pollution
The research was conducted under the leadership of Gal Vared and Prof. Noa Shankar from the School of Zoology in the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Steinhardt Museum of Nature at Tel Aviv University. Gal Vared also conducts research within the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat. The article was published in the journal Current Opinion in Toxicology.
According to Prof. Shankar, the plastic pollution, which comes entirely from the human environment, poses a great and immediate danger to the marine environment. The amount of plastic that reaches the sea is only increasing. For example, according to a survey by the Ministry of Environmental Protection from 2013, about 41% of the volume of waste produced annually by the residents of Israel is plastic waste, and the corona epidemic, which created a huge demand for protective measures and disposable products to prevent infection, increased the problem even more.
"Plastic waste causes harm to marine animals in many ways: they may become entangled in large products or swallow small particles and chemical substances, and as a result suffocate, starve, or die from poisoning," emphasizes Prof. Shanker. "The awareness of the problem is indeed increasing, and with it the research in the field is also expanding, but the efforts to monitor the pollution and prevent it encounter many difficulties, first of all due to the complexity and the enormous diversity of the plastic pollution in the sea."
How do you sample all this plastic?
The researchers explain that the plastic pollution in the sea includes many different types of plastic and plastic products in different shapes and sizes, from huge nets to nanometer particles, as well as a wide spectrum of chemical additives. Different methods for monitoring, sampling and identifying plastic pollution refer to different properties of the sampled material: from the size of the item or particle, its origin and use, through shape and color, to chemical composition and physical properties. In many cases, the sampling is carried out using a trailing net, where the collected pollution depends on the size of the holes in the net, and tiny particles are identified using a variety of spectroscopic methods and chemical processes in the laboratory. In addition to the difference in sampling and identification methods, there is also a difference in the units used to report the measured concentration: starting with the number of plastic items per unit area and ending with the weight of the particles per organism.
"These gaps create confusion and a lack of communication between those engaged in the craft around the world, and sabotage the effort to work together for the common goal of reducing pollution and its dangers. We urgently need uniform and comparable methods and indicators for monitoring, sampling, identifying, sorting and quantifying the plastic pollution in the sea and its consequences," she says Prof. Shankar.
Global methods are needed
"We carried out the review following difficulties in my research work, which deals with the effects of plastic and chemicals derived from plastic products on animals in the coral reef in Eilat (the largest marine biodiversity in Israel)," says Gal Vered and explains "the gaps in the monitoring and measurement methods make it difficult to use the findings of other researchers as a source For information or comparison purposes, for example, most measurements in the world refer to samples taken from the surface of the water by trawling, whereas I would like to know which ones Materials reach the bottom and the animals in the reef. Only in this way can we, as scientists, better understand the impact of pollution on marine ecosystems, maximize the power of research, and develop essential tools. Suitable for decision makers."
"Plastic pollution in the sea is a worldwide problem, which requires extensive international cooperation. The bottom line is that we all strive to focus our efforts as much as possible to achieve optimal results. Many, including us, believe that it is better to start in the areas near the coast that are immediately affected by plastic waste, but to establish the assumption and to build effective strategies for the management of plastic pollution, much more research work is needed, and first of all standardization is necessary that will allow For all of us, all over the world, to act together," Prof. Shankar concludes.
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