RE: are we off?13 Jan 2021 10:06
The article is also in the Times where Xeros
Polyester fibres account for more than half the microplastic pollution in the Arctic Ocean, according to a study that reveals how washing synthetic clothing is contaminating the remotest seas.
Scientists took samples throughout the ocean, including at the North Pole, and found an average of 40 plastic particles of 5mm or less per cubic metre of seawater. Synthetic fibres made up 92 per cent of the microplastic pollution and 73 per cent of those were polyester and resembled fibres used in textiles.
Previous research has found that washing a single item of synthetic clothing in a normal washing machine can release millions of microfibres into drains. Polyester fleeces have one of the highest rates of fibre loss.
Once in the ocean microfibres can be eaten by marine animals, which mistake them for food, and end up being eaten by humans. A study found that 63 per cent of shrimp in the North Sea contained synthetic fibres.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is calling for the UK to require all washing machines sold from 2024 to have a microfibre filter. Last year France passed a law requiring filters to be fitted to new machines from 2025.
The study by the Ocean Wise conservation association in Vancouver and the Canadian government’s Institute of Ocean Sciences said the Arctic Ocean had an “inherent vulnerability” to microplastic pollution
It added: “The dominance of polyester fibres in our study underscores the potentially important role that textiles, laundry and wastewater discharges may have in contaminating the world’s oceans with microplastics.”
. Plastics may contain toxic chemicals or absorb other toxins.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, reported that the heavy reliance of the indigenous Inuit people on the Arctic Ocean for food underlined the need for better understanding of the extent and impact of microplastic pollution.
The MCS calculated last year that more than nine trillion microfibres per week could be released by UK washing machines.
We are keeping the compulsory fitting of microplastic filters under close review.”
Wastewater is not the only source of microplastic pollution of remote seas. Research last year showed particles can be carried vast distances by winds.
?Filter would add £30 to cost
Washing machine filters can cut the number of fibres released into drains by almost 80 per cent, according to a study last year by the University of Plymouth.
Scientists tested six devices: three designed to be placed inside the drum, three to filter wastewater.
the best, an XFiltra water filter, trapped 78 per cent.
While the device is not currently available to buy, microfibres; the best, an XFiltra water filter, trapped 78 per cent. While the device is not currently available to buy, its maker, Xeros, is in talks with several washing machine manufacturers. The company expects the device to add £30 to the cost of a new machine.
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