Danger
posed by microbeads
- October 5, 2018 @ 10:33am
Pollution caused by plastic waste materials in our oceans,
regardless of size, poses a threat to marine life and humans.
Oceanography expert Datuk Dr Sukarno Wagiman said a major
problem had been occurring in the oceans worldwide due to the existence of
marine debris comprising microplastic or microbeads.
He said the garbage that polluted the world’s oceans was divided
into two categories: biodegradable garbage that included things such as logs
and wood and non-biodegradable garbage consisting of plastic, microplastic and
microbeads.
“Scientists worldwide are worried about non-biodegradable
garbage, especially plastic, which are made from chemicals. These items take a
very long time to decompose.
“What is more worrying is
that the garbage, categorised as marine debris, will be drifted at sea
according to currents or the wind direction. In Malaysia, areas in the
peninsula’s west coast will have a lot of garbage concentrated along its
coastlines when the southwestern monsoon winds blow.
“A similar thing will occur along the peninsula’s east coast
during the northeastern monsoon season.
“Garbage will be blown towards the coastline.
“When there are no winds, the garbage will drift according to
ocean currents and it could end up anywhere,” he told the New Straits Times
Press.
Sukarno, who is a former department of marine park Malaysia
director-general, said the drifted garbage could kill any life form in the
ocean.
“The plastic is made from chemical substances. These
plastic-based garbage will be torn apart, but they will not disintegrate
totally in the water. Instead, it will become smaller particles. At a glance,
we do not see these particles, but it is there in the water.
“Scientiests are concerned about how these small particles of
plastic will become food for marine life such as fish. This situation is
referred to as bio accumulation and (the waste) will be absorbed into the
tissue of marine life.”
Sukarno said when people consumed seafood such as fish, the
garbage or plastic would enter the people’s body or the body of other marine
life that fed on those fish.
He said in addition to microplastic pollution in the ocean, the
existence of microbeads had become the latest concern among scientists.
“Microbeads are largely used in cosmetics such as sunblock and
body lotions. Many countries have banned this substance in toiletry products.
“These bans are due to concerns over microbeads entering the
water system and disturbing marine life such as plankton, which is eaten by
other marine life.
“The dangers of these micro beads is similar to the dangers of
microplastic,” he said.
Sukarno urged the government to conduct awareness campaigns for
the community to ensure that people would take better care of the environment,
especially the oceans.
“We cannot take this matter lightly. There is no data on this
issue. There are some countries which are not concerned about such
environmental matter and they may regard the ocean as their garbage dumps.
“What’s worse is that ships contribute to the garbage problem in
oceans.
“This garbage could drift out to anywhere, even to our country’s
coastline,” he said, adding that efforts needed to be done to correct people’s
perception about garbage disposal and to step up efforts to promote recycling.
“There must be more awareness as this problem leads to
pollution. It poses a danger to shipping activities too as it could become the
cause of accidents at sea.
“Big
and small debris from garbage can harm marine organisms, either in the open
seas or along the coast.”
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