英国泰恩河港周日发生两艘船舶碰撞事故，导致大量塑料粒子进入河流。[1]碰撞船只为Wind Orca与BG Orange，事故造成一人受伤。[1]
约25吨塑料粒子（俗称nurdles）流入水体，总计约10亿个。[1]这些微小的塑料颗粒已向下游扩散，污染范围达南希尔兹海滩及更远地区，最远已传播至距碰撞地点约7英里外的桑德兰。[1]
污染地点距英国重要海鸟保护区马斯登湾不足3英里。[1]环保组织Fidra的高级项目经理Heather McFarlane表示，需要加强英国法规和海上强制措施以防止此类污染。[1]据Fidra去年的调查，塑料粒子污染已覆盖英国84%的特殊科学兴趣地点。[1]
Two vessels collided at the Port of Tyne, releasing approximately one billion plastic pellets into the waterway. [1] The incident involved the Wind Orca and BG Orange, which struck each other on Sunday, injuring one person. [1]
The collision resulted in roughly 25 tonnes of plastic pellets, commonly known as nurdles, entering the river. [1] The contamination has since spread across a wide area, reaching beaches at South Shields and extending as far as Sunderland, approximately seven miles downstream. [1] The spill site lies less than three miles from Marsden Bay, a significant seabird protection area in the United Kingdom. [1]
The dispersal of plastic pellets poses a threat to marine life and local ecosystems. Environmental organization Fidra previously found that plastic pellet pollution affected 84% of special scientific interest sites across the UK last year, according to the group's research. [1] Heather McFarlane, senior project manager at Fidra, called for stronger UK regulations and mandatory maritime measures to prevent similar incidents. [1]
Authorities have launched cleanup operations in response to the spill. [1]