White tides: The plastic nurdles problem

The proliferation of plastic pollution, particularly from nurdles (small plastic pellets used in manufacturing), poses significant environmental and ecological risks. Originating with the invention of Bakelite in 1907 and escalating post-World War II with advanced petrochemical technologies, nurdles are the second largest source of primary microplastic pollution globally. Each year an estimated 445,970 tonnes of nurdles enter the environment worldwide. Nurdle spills, such as those along Spain's Galician coast and other global incidents, underline the need for improved spill response, preventive measures, and international regulatory coordination. The environmental impact of nurdles, compared to more visible oil spills, is insidious and long-lasting due to their persistence and widespread dispersion. Current regulations, like the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) guidelines, reveal gaps in enforcement and fail to fully address the long-term consequences of spills. Recent technological innovations and policy interventions aim to mitigate risks, but there's an urgent need for coordinated global action, stricter controls, and investment in biodegradable alternatives to safeguard marine environments and ensure ecological sustainability.

Developmental toxicity of pre-production plastic pellets affects a large swathe of invertebrate taxa

Microplastics pose risks to marine organisms through ingestion, entanglement, and as carriers of toxic additives and environmental pollutants. Plastic pre-production pellet leachates have been shown to affect the development of sea urchins and, to some extent, mussels. The extent of those developmental effects on other animal phyla remains unknown. Here, we test the toxicity of environmental mixed nurdle samples and new PVC pellets for the embryonic development or asexual reproduction by regeneration of animals from all the major animal superphyla (Lophotrochozoa, Ecdysozoa, Deuterostomia and Cnidaria). Our results show diverse, concentration-dependent impacts in all the species sampled for new pellets, and for molluscs and deuterostomes for environmental samples. Embryo axial formation, cell specification and, specially, morphogenesis seem to be the main processes affected by plastic leachate exposure. Our study serves as a proof of principle for the potentially catastrophic effects that increasing plastic concentrations in the oceans and other ecosystems can have across animal populations from all major animal superphyla.

Maritime disasters and pollution: X-Press Pearl maritime debacle

Ocean ecosystems and global well-being are connected and significant. Over the past few decades, shipping accidents have caused severe marine pollution all over the world, and after a lull during the hike of COVID pandemic, polluting events are again on the rise. Marine pollution caused by maritime accidents requires a clear understanding of the fate of spilled pollutants, post-disaster challenges, pollutant removal strategies, and mitigation strategies against environmental damage. Considering proactive prevention is always better than reactive response, while understanding accidents and ensuring corrective action is even more important. This Special Issue provides a broad overview of the marine and coastal pollution, not limited to, but focused on the 2021 X-Press Pearl containership disaster off the coast of Sri Lanka, and the impact on the marine environment. Topics address the most unprecedented nurdle and pyroplastic spill and subsequent oil spillage of the X-Press Pearl, causes and consequences of polluting ship disasters, novel oil pollution mitigation approaches, needfulness of post-disaster environmental assessment plans, future requirements for ecosystem restoration and environmental management of shipping, and other aspects of coastal pollution that are timely to consider unprecedented pressures, which marine environments are now subjected to.

Contamination and distribution of buried microplastics in Sarakkuwa beach ensuing the MV X-Press Pearl maritime disaster in Sri Lankan sea

Abundance of buried microplastics in sand profiles and pellet pollution index at Sarakkuwa beach, at west-coast of Sri Lanka was studied as a case study due to the receival of plastic nurdles and debris from the MV X-Press Pearl ship disaster in May 2021. Sand collected at 7 locations to a depth of 2 m in different depths for a beach segment of 200 × 25 m² during October 2021 and sand samples obtained from beach surface during March 2020 from the same location were analyzed for microplastics. Beach was contaminated with 2-5 mm sized partially pyrolyzed LDPE fragments and nurdles demonstrating a peak abundance of 13.3702 g/kg and1 mm-500 μm sized LDPE fragments up to 2.0 m depth. High concentrations of Mo and Cr were observed in the sand collected in 2021. Sarakkuwa beach is critically polluted by nurdles, partially pyrolyzed microplastics, and toxic elements from ship disaster.

Occurrence, distribution, and associated pollutants of plastic pellets (nurdles) in coastal areas of South Texas

Nurdles, also known as plastic resin pellets, are now a major source of plastic pollution on beaches globally, thus it is important to elucidate their weathering patterns and environmental fates as well as the associated pollutants. In this study we collected nurdles from 24 sites in the coastal bend region of south Texas, covering areas from the near shore railway stations to the adjacent bays and barrier islands. The morphologies of nurdles and associated pollutants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and mercury, were investigated. The results showed that the nurdles varied greatly in color, shape, polymer composition, and oxidation degree. More than 80 % of the nurdles were made with polyethylene, and the rest with polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene, polyethylene-vinyl acetate, and polyvinyl chloride based on Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. PCBs were not detected on nurdles. PAHs and mercury on nurdles were detected at 12 % and 20 % of the sampling sites. The total concentrations of detectable PAHs ranged from 92.59 to 1787.23 ng/g-nurdle, and the detectable mercury concentrations ranged from 1.23 to 22.25 ng/g-nurdle. Although the concentrations of these pollutants were not at the acute toxic effect level, the presence of PAHs and mercury suggested the potential risk of pollutant exposure to marine organisms in ecosystems, given the fact that nurdles are persistent in the environment.

The impacts of weathering on concentration and bioaccessibility of organic pollutants associated with plastic pellets (nurdles) in coastal environments

Nurdles, the pre-production plastic pellets, are a major source of plastic pollution in marine environments due to unregulated spills during production and transportation. We analyzed the types of plastics and associated organic pollutants on nurdles collected along the shoreline of Gulf of Mexico in Texas. Our results showed that the nurdles were made from polyethylene (81.9%) and polypropylene (18.1%). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, 16 US EPA priority) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, 7 commercial congeners) sorbed to the nurdles were in concentration ranges of 1.6-14,700 ng/ g and 0-642 ng/ g, respectively. Heavily weathered nurdles tended to have higher concentrations of PAHs and PCBs than lightly weathered ones. The bioaccessibility of sorbed contaminants was evaluated using a simulated intestinal fluid. The results showed that the associated PAHs were more bioaccessible in lightly weathered nurdles (13.1 ± 2.3%) than heavily weathered one (5.3 ± 0.1%), and that no PCBs were bioaccessible. These findings are informative for toxicity evaluation and resource management of plastic debris in coastal environments.

The dynamics of plastic pellets on sandy beaches: A new methodological approach

Plastic found in the coastal zone is a result of waste mismanagement. This material comes directly from offshore disposal or by fishing debris, other marine activities, and by marine currents and winds, as well as urban drainage systems and estuaries. Specifically, in the case of plastic pellets, which are spheres with 2-5 mm that constitute the raw material for the manufacture of plastic products, the Santos Port and the plastic factories in Cubatão city (Brazilian southeastern coast), are considered the main local sources for the São Paulo state coast. Consequently, the beaches most affected by this pollutant are those near Santos estuary, like Enseada do Guarujá beach. However, some questions are still open, such as: what are the mechanisms which control the pellets deposition, and which locations are most favorable for deposition on the beach? To answer these questions, a four-step research was carried out at Enseada beach: 1) Plastic pellets geodetic survey based on GNSS positioning; 2) Beach geomorphometric parameters (altitude, aspect, and slope) derived by Digital Elevation Model (DEM); 3) Strandline altitude estimated through wave climate and tide height; and, 4) Plastic pellets deposition Suitability Index (PSI). The joint analysis of the altimetric, geomorphometric and meteoceanographic aspects showed that the beach areas with altitudes higher than those calculated for the strandline (>2.06 m), slope ~ 3° and facing the same direction of the higher energy waves (157.5-202.5°) were more susceptible to pellet deposition. This indicates that the accumulation of this pollutant on the beach is controlled not only by its physical characteristics, but mainly by storm surge events. Besides, surveys with geodetic reference (fixed, univocal, and relatively stable on time) bring up altimetric information as a result of all interactions and can be compared with other beaches anywhere on the planet - thus contributing to a standardization of the survey methodology.

Measuring plastic pellet (nurdle) abundance on shorelines throughout the Gulf of Mexico using citizen scientists: Establishing a platform for policy-relevant research

There is an increasing awareness of microplastics within the global problem of marine plastic pollution. In 2018, small plastic pellets or "nurdles" were observed on the beaches of Corpus Christi, Texas. A citizen science project, "Nurdle Patrol," was established by the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve to monitor the presence of nurdles, with volunteer interest enabling this project to expand across the Gulf of Mexico region. This case study describes the sampling methodology, the policy framework, and initial quantitative data from the citizen science project on nurdle distribution along the Gulf coast. A total of 2042 Nurdle Patrol surveys have been conducted by 744 citizen scientists covering shorelines from Mahahual, Mexico to Fort Jefferson, Florida. All 20 of the highest standardized nurdle counts were recorded at sites in Texas. Results can inform decision-maker response across regulatory scales and further research on nurdle pollution.