The M/V X-Press Pearl Nurdle Spill: Contamination of Burnt Plastic and Unburnt Nurdles along Sri Lanka's Beaches.

ABSTRACT: In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl cargo ship caught fire 18 km off the west coast of Sri Lanka and spilled ∼1680 tons of spherical pieces of plastic or "nurdles" (∼5 mm; white in color). Nurdles are the preproduction plastic used to manufacture a wide range of end products. Exposure to combustion, heat, and chemicals led to agglomeration, fragmentation, charring, and chemical modification of the plastic, creating an unprecedented complex spill of visibly burnt plastic and unburnt nurdles. These pieces span a continuum of colors, shapes, sizes, and densities with high variability that could impact cleanup efforts, alter transport in the ocean, and potentially affect wildlife. Visibly burnt plastic was 3-fold more chemically complex than visibly unburnt nurdles. This added chemical c

SUBMITTER: de Vos A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10114858 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature