佛羅里達(dá)州坦帕灣被40億個塑料微粒污染

研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，佛羅里達(dá)州坦帕灣被40億個塑料微粒污染

There are more than 4 billion bits of microplastic floating in Tampa Bay, according to a new study.

根據(jù)一項新的研究，坦帕灣漂浮著超過40億個塑料微粒。

Researchers collected samples of water and sentiment from Tampa Bay over the course of more than a year and found an average of one particle of microplastic for every liter — which led to their calculation that the entire bay contains at least 4 billion particles.

研究人員在一年多的時間里收集了坦帕灣的水和情感樣本，發(fā)現(xiàn)平均每升海水中含有一粒微塑性微粒，這使得他們計算出整個坦帕灣至少含有40億粒微粒。

“This is a very important study in that it is the first for our region and shows the extent of the problem,” said Henry Alegria, an environmental scientist at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and a co-author of the study.

南佛羅里達(dá)大學(xué)圣彼得堡分校的環(huán)境科學(xué)家、該研究的合著者亨利·阿萊格里亞說：“這是一項非常重要的研究，因為這是我們地區(qū)的第一項研究，顯示了問題的嚴(yán)重性。”

“It also provides a vital baseline on total numbers and distribution. This is important for management plans moving forward to show whether future actions and policies are effective at reducing these particles in our environment.”

“它還提供了總數(shù)量和分布的重要基線。這對未來的管理計劃很重要，它將顯示未來的行動和政策是否能有效減少我們環(huán)境中的這些顆粒物。”

Microplastics, which are defined as tiny bits of plastic that are 5 millimeters long or smaller, have been discovered in a range of far-flung places, including the Arctic. They can come from larger pieces of plastic that have partially broken down, but the most typical source in the Tampa Bay study was from fibers originating in fishing lines, nets and synthetic clothes.

微塑料被定義為5毫米或更小的塑料微粒，在包括北極在內(nèi)的許多遙遠(yuǎn)的地方都被發(fā)現(xiàn)了。它們可能來自已經(jīng)部分分解的較大塑料碎片，但坦帕灣研究中最典型的來源是來自釣魚線、漁網(wǎng)和合成服裝中的纖維。

Although the study’s findings seem substantial and perhaps even shocking, the researchers said their estimate might be conservative because their collection in the bay occurred several feet below the water’s surface, likey missing more buoyant microplastics.

盡管這項研究的發(fā)現(xiàn)似乎是實質(zhì)性的，甚至可能是令人震驚的，但研究人員說，他們的估計可能是保守的，因為他們在海灣的收集發(fā)生在水面以下幾英尺的地方，就像缺少了更具浮力的微塑料一樣。

“Although it is tempting to clean up the mess, it is not feasible to remove these particles from the water column or separate them out from sediments.”

“盡管清理這些垃圾很有誘惑力，但從水柱中清除這些顆?；?qū)⑺鼈儚某练e物中分離出來是不可行的。”

McEachern added: “Only by removing the sources of plastics and microplastic particles can we successfully decrease the potential risks of plastics in the marine environment.”

McEachern補充說:“只有去除塑料和微塑料顆粒的來源，我們才能成功地降低塑料在海洋環(huán)境中的潛在風(fēng)險。”

The study was published in the November issue of the Marine Pollution Bulletin.

這項研究發(fā)表在11月份的《海洋污染公報》上。