Seabirds threatened by hazardous chemicals in plastics: Study

TOKYO: An international collaboration led by scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Japan, has found that hazardous chemicals were detected in plastics eaten by seabirds, ultimately affecting their existence. The researchers carried out a non-target survey of additives in 194 pieces of plastics ingested by seabirds, such as Northern Fulmar and Albatross, in the study published in the journal of Marine Pollution Bulletin. These additives, which are often hazardous chemicals, are generally blended into most plastics in order to make plastics better, for instance, to stabilise polymers against UV degradation or oxidation, to simply add colours, and so on. — IANS