Up to 80% of British mussels contain plastic
UP to 80 per cent of British mussels are contaminated by tiny pieces of plastic, scientists have found.
They warn that the pollution is a worrying sign of the scale of plastic rubbish in our seas.
The ‘microplastics’ come from the breakdown of water bottles, carrier bags and other debris.
The Daily Mail is leading a campaign for a deposit scheme for plastic bottles and a ban on microbeads in cosmetic products to rid our land and seas of the synthetic scourge.
Researchers from King’s College London sampled four beaches in Kent to examine pollution levels.
The tests showed about 80 per cent of mussels collected at Ramsgate were contaminated and in Herne Bay the figure was 40 per cent. In one of the mussel samples, the researchers found a blue synthetic microfibre.
Another of the tests at Reculver, near Herne Bay, carried out for the BBC’s Inside Out investigations team found five pieces of plastic in just one mussel.
Although the molluscs are not harvested for food, the results show plastic is entering the food chain. Dr Stephanie Wright, of King’s, said the impact on humans is a ‘big unknown’.
She added: ‘Other animals will be eating those animals with plastics, which puts the particles in [our] food chain.
‘Particles could pass through the gut and not cause any effect or it could release contaminants, and these are chemicals with known human health effects.’
Only last week, Prince Charles made a speech warning ‘wherever you swim there are particles of plastic near you and we are very close to reaching the point when whatever wild-caught fish you eat will contain plastic’.
Rob Dyer, of the Kent and Essex Association of Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, said he was shocked by the results.
He is considering commissioning further research, including the effect on cockles in the Thames Estuary. ‘I’m interested in seeing if, like the mussels, they are picking up any plastic contamination because they are harvested and processed directly for human consumption,’ Mr Dyer told the BBC.
Previous research by Plymouth University found that people who regularly eat seafood ingest up to 11,000 tiny pieces of plastic a year. It warned that a third of UKcaught fish contained plastics.
The particles attract algae which smells like sulphur, an appetising aroma for many sea creatures.
Around 10,000 to 27,000 tonnes of plastic are dumped in the seas around the UK every year. Worldwide, it is up to 13 million tonnes.
‘Particles in our food chain’