A group of environmental advocates have carried out a lab study on samples of the plastic debris from the wreck of the X-Press Pearl, which burned and sank off Colombo, Sri Lanka last year. The vessel was carrying nearly 1,700 tonnes of plastic pellets, or nurdles, and it released a substantial quantity into the environment when it sank. According to a UN assessment team, it was the largest plastic spill event in history.
Some of the plastic washed up on shore intact, and other components arrived in burned or partly-burned form. The small size and massive number of the particles has made cleanup extremely challenging, and burned pieces – which often look like organic matter – have proven exceptionally difficult to remove.
With financial support from the Swedish government and the Rockefeller Foundation, two groups – Sweden’s International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and Sri Lanka’s Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) – have analyzed samples of intact and burnt plastic debris from the ship for potentially hazardous pollutants.
The advocates found concerning results in the debris, particularly in partially-burnt lumps. Lead and cadmium were detected in the burnt debris, along with elevated levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In many of these samples, PAH concentrations exceeded EU limits for consumer products.
Read more:
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/study-x-press-pearl-cargo-spill-is-the-oil-spill-of-our-times