Newcastle University is leading a year-long research initiative to evaluate the environmental impact of a microplastic spill in the River Tyne earlier this year.
The project, which involves scientists from Newcastle University and the University of Liverpool, was launched to map the travel of plastic pellets following a spill.
The spillage of tonnes of microplastics, known as nurdles, took place on July 19 after a ship collision at the Port of Tyne. Since the incident, the pellets have been discovered on beaches throughout Tyneside, Wearside, and Teesside. “We hope to visit Denmark to determine if the pellets found are the nurdles from the Port of Tyne spill,” Dr Geoffrey Abbott, a reader in geochemistry at Newcastle University, said.
“This will be a long-term issue, securing the grant now gives us room to conduct more research not just in the North East but worldwide,” North East England Beached Bird Surveys co-ordinator Dan Turner said.
There have been cases where they can travel great distances, for instance a spill in South Africa led to nurdles washing up in Perth, Australia, in no time at all.
A core focus of the research involves the health of local wildlife.
The research team is working with various partners, including the Environment Agency, the Tyne Rivers Trust, and Groundwork North East and Cumbria, alongside a network of volunteers. As the study progresses, the team is asking the public to continue submitting photographs of nurdles to assist in mapping the distribution and movement of the spill.
