Latest news with #Ghiglione
Euronews
6 days ago
- Health
- Euronews
Hunting microplastics: French scientists sound the alarm on plastic pollution
The Mediterranean is the sixth largest accumulation zone for marine litter. It holds only 1% of the world's waters but concentrates 7% of all global microplastics. This is why French scientists from the Exploration Bleue project have come off the coast of Toulon to study the impact of microplastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. Their expeditions are led by the NGO Expédition 7ᵉ Continent's 27-metre sailing vessel. 'The Mediterranean is an enclosed sea with a dense population. All human activity ends up in the sea. We study the chemical pollutants carried by plastics. What we already know is that all of them contain chemical pollution,' explains Alexandra Ter-Halle, Director of Research at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and scientific coordinator of the expedition. The research involves towing two trawls for one hour to collect microplastic samples. These will then be sorted in the laboratories participating in the project. Alexandra has been studying the chemical nature of pollutants associated with plastics for years at the University of Toulouse. 'We measure and weigh microplastics; we analyse their composition. We know that over 16,000 chemical substances are used to make plastics — 4,000 of them are already classified as hazardous.' When marine animals are exposed to microplastics, chemical substances can transfer into their bodies. Since many of these are endocrine disruptors, they impact the animals' health. The effects on humans are not yet fully understood, as Alexandra explains: 'We know that endocrine disruptors affect the entire hormonal system in our bodies. They impact fertility and the development of cancer, but we still have many questions about this plastic pollution.' Science is only just beginning to understand how dangerous microplastics can be for ecosystems and human health. We eat, breathe and drink them — but there's still much we don't know. For micro- and nanoplastics, which are often smaller than a thousandth of a millimetre, we lack precise tools to measure them or fully grasp their effects, scientists say. The European Commission's Zero Pollution Action Plan aims to cut microplastics by 30% by 2030. Jean-François Ghiglione, a marine microbiologist and research director at CNRS, led an unprecedented sampling campaign across nine major European rivers in 2019. He found microplastics everywhere in 'alarming' concentrations. 'Europe is quite advanced in this area,' explains Ghiglione. 'We used to have massive plastic pollution, mainly from packaging and single-use plastics. That was the European Union's initial target. Now, we're hoping to see a shift in how plastic is perceived.' So far, plastic has been viewed as waste, and efforts have focused on waste management. Ghiglione hopes the EU will drive a push for a drastic reduction in plastic production, and also come out with a list of chemical substances to be banned from use in plastics. Europe has made progress in limiting microplastics, but Ghiglione and the scientific community are calling for more. With negotiations for a global treaty still underway, Europe and the international community face a choice: continue managing pollution, or tackle the problem at its root.
Daily Tribune
08-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Tribune
'Alarming' microplastic pollution in Europe's great rivers
AFP | Paris " Alarming" levels of microplastic have been found in major rivers across Europe according to scientists in 14 studies published simultaneously yesterday. "The pollution is present in all European rivers" studied, said French scientist Jean-François Ghiglione, who coordinated the large-scale operation across nine major rivers from the Thames to the Tiber. "Alarming" pollution of on average "three microplastics per cubic metre of water" was observed in all of them, according to the results published in the journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research. This is far from the 40 microplastics per cubic metre recorded in the world's 10 most polluted rivers -- the Yellow River, Yangtze, Mekong, Ganges, Nile, Niger, Indus, Amur, Pearl and Hai -- which irrigate countries where most plastic is produced or plastic waste is processed. But this does not take into account the volume of water flowing. 3,000 particles per second On the Rhone in Valence, France, the fast flow means there are "3,000 plastic particles every second", said Ghiglione. The Seine in Paris has around 900 per second. "The mass of microplastics invisible to the naked eye is more significant than that of the visible ones," said Ghiglione -- a result that "surprised" researchers. This was confirmed by analytical advances made during the studies, which began in 2019. "Large microplastics float and are collected at the surface, while in- visible ones are distributed throughout the water column and are ingested by many animals and organisms," said Ghiglione, head of research in marine microbial ecotoxicology at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Samples were collected from the mouths of the rivers Elbe, Ebro, Garonne, Loire, Rhone, Rhine, Seine, Thames and the Tiber by some 40 chemists, biologists and physicists from 19 research laboratories. The researchers then made their way upstream until they reached the first major city on each of the waterways. "Microplastics are smaller than a grain of rice," said Alexandra Ter Halle, a chemist at the CNRS in Toulouse, who took part in the analysis. 'Mermaid tears' The particles are less than five millimetres in size, with the smallest invisible to the naked eye. These include synthetic textile fibres from washing clothes and microplastics released from car tyres or when unscrewing plastic bottle caps. Researchers also found virgin plastic pellets, the raw granules used to manufacture plastic products. One of the studies identified a virulent bacterium on a microplastic in the Loire in France, capable of causing infections in humans. Another unexpected finding was that a quarter of microplastics discovered in rivers are not derived from waste but come from industrial plastic pellets. These granules, dubbed "mermaid tears", can also sometimes be found scattered along beaches after maritime incidents. "What we see is the pollution is diffuse and established" and "comes from everywhere" in the rivers, he added. "The international scientific coalition we are part of (as part of international UN negotiations on reducing plastic pollution) is calling for a major reduction in the production of primary plastic because we know that plastic production is directly linked to pollution," he said.
Local Spain
07-04-2025
- Science
- Local Spain
Europe's great rivers hit by 'alarming' microplastic pollution
"Alarming" levels of microplastic have been found in major rivers across Europe according to scientists in 14 studies published simultaneously Monday. "The pollution is present in all European rivers" studied, said French scientist Jean-François Ghiglione, who coordinated the large-scale operation across nine major rivers from the Thames to the Tiber. "Alarming" pollution of on average "three microplastics per cubic metre of water" was observed in all of them, according to the results published in the journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research. This is far from the 40 microplastics per cubic metre recorded in the world's 10 most polluted rivers -- the Yellow River, Yangtze, Mekong, Ganges, Nile, Niger, Indus, Amur, Pearl and Hai -- which irrigate countries where most plastic is produced or plastic waste is processed. But this does not take into account the volume of water flowing. '3,000 particles a second' On the Rhone in Valence, France, the fast flow means there are "3,000 plastic particles every second", said Ghiglione. The Seine in Paris has around 900 per second. "The mass of microplastics invisible to the naked eye is more significant than that of the visible ones," said Ghiglione -- a result that "surprised" researchers. This was confirmed by analytical advances made during the studies, which began in 2019. "Large microplastics float and are collected at the surface, while invisible ones are distributed throughout the water column and are ingested by many animals and organisms," said Ghiglione, head of research in marine microbial ecotoxicology at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Samples were collected from the mouths of the rivers Elbe, Ebro, Garonne, Loire, Rhone, Rhine, Seine, Thames and the Tiber by some 40 chemists, biologists and physicists from 19 research laboratories. Zaragoza's cathedral next to the river Ebro in Zaragoza, in the Aragon region of Spain. Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP. The researchers then made their way upstream until they reached the first major city on each of the waterways. "Microplastics are smaller than a grain of rice," said Alexandra Ter Halle, a chemist at the CNRS in Toulouse, who took part in the analysis. 'Mermaid tears' The particles are less than five millimetres in size, with the smallest invisible to the naked eye. These include synthetic textile fibres from washing clothes and microplastics released from car tyres or when unscrewing plastic bottle caps. Researchers also found virgin plastic pellets, the raw granules used to manufacture plastic products. One of the studies identified a virulent bacterium on a microplastic in the Loire in France, capable of causing infections in humans. Another unexpected finding was that a quarter of microplastics discovered in rivers are not derived from waste but come from industrial plastic pellets. These granules, dubbed "mermaid tears", can also sometimes be found scattered along beaches after maritime incidents. "What we see is the pollution is diffuse and established" and "comes from everywhere" in the rivers, he added. "The international scientific coalition we are part of (as part of international UN negotiations on reducing plastic pollution) is calling for a major reduction in the production of primary plastic because we know that plastic production is directly linked to pollution," he said.
Local Italy
07-04-2025
- Science
- Local Italy
Europe's great rivers hit by 'alarming' microplastic pollution
"Alarming" levels of microplastic have been found in major rivers across Europe according to scientists in 14 studies published simultaneously Monday. "The pollution is present in all European rivers" studied, said French scientist Jean-François Ghiglione, who coordinated the large-scale operation across nine major rivers from the Thames to the Tiber. "Alarming" pollution of on average "three microplastics per cubic metre of water" was observed in all of them, according to the results published in the journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research. This is far from the 40 microplastics per cubic metre recorded in the world's 10 most polluted rivers -- the Yellow River, Yangtze, Mekong, Ganges, Nile, Niger, Indus, Amur, Pearl and Hai -- which irrigate countries where most plastic is produced or plastic waste is processed. But this does not take into account the volume of water flowing. '3,000 particles a second' On the Rhone in Valence, France, the fast flow means there are "3,000 plastic particles every second", said Ghiglione. The Seine in Paris has around 900 per second. "The mass of microplastics invisible to the naked eye is more significant than that of the visible ones," said Ghiglione -- a result that "surprised" researchers. This was confirmed by analytical advances made during the studies, which began in 2019. "Large microplastics float and are collected at the surface, while invisible ones are distributed throughout the water column and are ingested by many animals and organisms," said Ghiglione, head of research in marine microbial ecotoxicology at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Samples were collected from the mouths of the rivers Elbe, Ebro, Garonne, Loire, Rhone, Rhine, Seine, Thames and the Tiber by some 40 chemists, biologists and physicists from 19 research laboratories. Zaragoza's cathedral next to the river Ebro in Zaragoza, in the Aragon region of Spain. Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP. The researchers then made their way upstream until they reached the first major city on each of the waterways. "Microplastics are smaller than a grain of rice," said Alexandra Ter Halle, a chemist at the CNRS in Toulouse, who took part in the analysis. 'Mermaid tears' The particles are less than five millimetres in size, with the smallest invisible to the naked eye. These include synthetic textile fibres from washing clothes and microplastics released from car tyres or when unscrewing plastic bottle caps. Researchers also found virgin plastic pellets, the raw granules used to manufacture plastic products. One of the studies identified a virulent bacterium on a microplastic in the Loire in France, capable of causing infections in humans. Another unexpected finding was that a quarter of microplastics discovered in rivers are not derived from waste but come from industrial plastic pellets. These granules, dubbed "mermaid tears", can also sometimes be found scattered along beaches after maritime incidents. "What we see is the pollution is diffuse and established" and "comes from everywhere" in the rivers, he added. "The international scientific coalition we are part of (as part of international UN negotiations on reducing plastic pollution) is calling for a major reduction in the production of primary plastic because we know that plastic production is directly linked to pollution," he said.
Local France
07-04-2025
- Science
- Local France
Europe's great rivers hit by 'alarming' microplastic pollution
"Alarming" levels of microplastic have been found in major rivers across Europe according to scientists in 14 studies published simultaneously Monday. "The pollution is present in all European rivers" studied, said French scientist Jean-François Ghiglione, who coordinated the large-scale operation across nine major rivers from the Thames to the Tiber. "Alarming" pollution of on average "three microplastics per cubic metre of water" was observed in all of them, according to the results published in the journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research. This is far from the 40 microplastics per cubic metre recorded in the world's 10 most polluted rivers -- the Yellow River, Yangtze, Mekong, Ganges, Nile, Niger, Indus, Amur, Pearl and Hai -- which irrigate countries where most plastic is produced or plastic waste is processed. But this does not take into account the volume of water flowing. '3,000 particles a second' On the Rhone in Valence, France, the fast flow means there are "3,000 plastic particles every second", said Ghiglione. The Seine in Paris has around 900 per second. "The mass of microplastics invisible to the naked eye is more significant than that of the visible ones," said Ghiglione -- a result that "surprised" researchers. This was confirmed by analytical advances made during the studies, which began in 2019. "Large microplastics float and are collected at the surface, while invisible ones are distributed throughout the water column and are ingested by many animals and organisms," said Ghiglione, head of research in marine microbial ecotoxicology at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). Advertisement Samples were collected from the mouths of the rivers Elbe, Ebro, Garonne, Loire, Rhone, Rhine, Seine, Thames and the Tiber by some 40 chemists, biologists and physicists from 19 research laboratories. Zaragoza's cathedral next to the river Ebro in Zaragoza, in the Aragon region of Spain. Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP. The researchers then made their way upstream until they reached the first major city on each of the waterways. "Microplastics are smaller than a grain of rice," said Alexandra Ter Halle, a chemist at the CNRS in Toulouse, who took part in the analysis. 'Mermaid tears' The particles are less than five millimetres in size, with the smallest invisible to the naked eye. These include synthetic textile fibres from washing clothes and microplastics released from car tyres or when unscrewing plastic bottle caps. Advertisement Researchers also found virgin plastic pellets, the raw granules used to manufacture plastic products. One of the studies identified a virulent bacterium on a microplastic in the Loire in France, capable of causing infections in humans. Another unexpected finding was that a quarter of microplastics discovered in rivers are not derived from waste but come from industrial plastic pellets. These granules, dubbed "mermaid tears", can also sometimes be found scattered along beaches after maritime incidents. "What we see is the pollution is diffuse and established" and "comes from everywhere" in the rivers, he added. "The international scientific coalition we are part of (as part of international UN negotiations on reducing plastic pollution) is calling for a major reduction in the production of primary plastic because we know that plastic production is directly linked to pollution," he said.
