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Sep 01, 2023

Microplastics in some parts of the Med have increased by 80%

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 5 - The quantity of microplastics

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 5 - The quantity of microplastics grew by80% between September 2019 and May 2022 in some stretches of theMediterranean according to a study conducted by the AdvancedTechnologies Network Center (Aten) at the University of Palermo. Microplastics in waters off the Spanish coast increased from1,180 to 2,180 units per litre and in the stretch from Palermoto Gibraltar from 803 to 1,440 units, according to the findingsof the research carried out during the Ocean to Ocean RibAdventure mission that left Palermo on December 15, 2021 andended in Los Angeles on May 23, 2022The researchers examined the presence of tiny plastic particlesat a maximum depth of one metre. The analysis showed that the areas along the Mediterranean andColombian coasts, where anthropic activities have had thegreatest impact, are the most polluted, with the presence ofmicroplastics exceeding the average value by 75%. "Moreover, thanks to comparison with data obtained from aprevious mission, we were able to attest to the exponentialincrease of microplastics in the Mediterranean in about two anda half years," said Professor Mariano Licciardi, head of Aten's'Preparation and Analysis of Biomaterials' laboratory. (ANSA).