Record levels of plastic pollution found in Arctic ice

TINY particles known as “microplastics” have been found in record levels in Arctic sea ice, raising concerns about their impact on marine life and humans, scientists said.

Up to 12,000 of the plastic particles were found per litre of sea ice in ice core samples taken from five regions on trips to the Arctic Ocean in 2014 and 2015, researchers from Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research found.

The tiny fragments of plastic ranged from types widely used in packaging such as polyethylene, to paints, nylon, polyester and cellulose acetate, which is commonly used in making cigarette filters.

Identifying different types of microplastic and the movement of ice indicates their possible source, with the record levels of polyethylene found in one area thought to come from the massive “garbage patch” in the Pacific Ocean.

High levels of paint and nylon particles point to increased shipping and fishing activities in some parts of the Arctic Ocean as the retreat of the sea ice caused by climate change opens the region to more human exploitation.

Study author Dr Ilka Peeken said: “These findings suggest that both the expanding shipping and fishing activities in the Arctic are leaving their mark.

“The high microplastic concentrations in the sea ice can thus not only be attributed to sources outside the Arctic Ocean. Instead they point to local pollution in the Arctic.”

The scientists also warned that the majority of the particles they discovered were microscopic, meaning they could be taken up by single-cell organisms and tiny crustaceans.