Regions of northern Spain, from Galicia to the Basque Country, activated or raised environmental alerts on Tuesday over tons of tiny plastic pellets that fell into the sea in Portuguese waters in December.
According to information released by the Spanish government, the owner of the boat, which on December 8 lost the containers with the cargo it was carrying, 80 kilometers from Viana do Castelo, reported that more than a thousand bags containing about 26.2 tons of these balls with about 5 millimeters in diameter, used to make plastics, and which are now washing up on the coast of northern Spain, with local press and environmental associations talking about “white sands” and a “tide of plastic”.
Previous information known before Monday estimated 15 tons of plastic pellets inside one of the containers lost by the boat.
Other containers that fell overboard (at least five more) contained tires, rolls of cling film and aluminum rods, according to information provided by the boat owner to Spanish authorities.
The first bags of plastic balls were discovered on December 13 on the beaches of Galicia, on the border with Northern Portugal.
However, it was at the end of last week that large quantities of plastic pellets began to arrive on the Galician coast, scattered in bags.
The regional government of Galicia activated on Friday level 1 (the least serious) of the Territorial Action Plan for Marine Pollution of Galicia, which includes surveillance and cleanup tasks, and this Tuesday raised the alert level to level 2, which can be counted. on government resources to solve the problem.
According to a map that the environmental association Noia Limpa has posted on its website, based on testimonies and official information, these plastic pellets have already been found on the beaches of almost the entire coast of Galicia, from Pontevedra, in the southwest of the region, to the northern side.
In the neighboring region of Asturias, similar pellets were first discovered on beaches on Monday, and the regional government also activated Level 2 of its autonomous marine pollution contingency plan, given the “widespread presence” of plastic on sands along the entire coastline. .
In Cantabria, a region bordering Galicia, similar plastic balls have been found on beaches.
The Basque Country, already on the border with France, also announced on Tuesday the activation of its Special Emergency Plan to combat marine pollution, given the predictable arrival of these plastics on the region’s coast.
The adviser in charge of the environment in the Basque government, Arantxa Tapia, told reporters that the regional executive monitors the location of plastic on the high seas and that the regional government’s goal is to collect as much plastic as possible before it reaches the beaches.
Tapia said, however, that “some of this plastic will end up on the beaches” of the Basque Country.
Spain’s Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said the country’s authorities do not yet know “the scale of what could happen.”
These plastic beads, which have a diameter of less than 5 millimeters, are used in the plastics industry and an estimated 52,140 were lost into the environment in 2019 alone, according to Galician environmental association Noia Limpa, which cites EU Monitor data. 184,290 tons.
While not biodegradable, these little beads break down over the years into nanoparticles, microplastics, that end up in the marine food chain.
The Galician Federation of Environmentalists said in a statement on Sunday that the situation was not similar to an oil spill, but stressed that the danger of this accident should not be “undermined” as it was not yet known “how it will happen.” develop and how it will affect the environment and living things.”
On Monday, Spain’s Justice Ministry announced it had launched an investigation to determine possible liability in the case.
In Portugal, Captain Viana do Castelo told Lusa that he was concerned and was paying “increased attention” to the possibility of an impact on the Portuguese coast, adding that daily patrols had not yet detected anything.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.