site.btaRomanian Researchers Warn of Serious Microplastic Pollution in Black Sea

A study by a group of researchers from the National Institute for Marine Research and Development Grigore Antipa in Constanta shows serious microplastic pollution along the Romanian Black Sea coast, Digi24 reported. Specialists warn that harmful particles pass directly from fish and shellfish onto people’s plates, posing a major risk to human health.

According to the published data, 93.3% of the analyzed specimens of sprat and rapa whelks, as well as 66.7% of the mussels from the Romanian coast, are contaminated. Plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters were found in them.

The researchers cite proximity to the mouth of the Danube River as the main reason for the situation, as the river carries tons of plastic into the Black Sea. They compared the results obtained along the Romanian Black Sea coast with studies conducted by Bulgarian researchers in the areas of Varna and Burgas.

A higher frequency of microplastics was found in species collected along the Romanian coast.

The specialists also recall that plastic takes between 200 and 400 years to decompose.