Small crustacean can fragment microplastics in four days, study finds – Guardian

Small crustaceans can fragment microplastics into pieces smaller than a cell within 96 hours, a study has shown. Until now, plastic fragmentation has been largely attributed to slow physical processes such as sunlight and wave action, which can take years and even decades.

Environmental scientists at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland studying the 2cm-long amphipod Gammarus duebeni found that microplastic beads were not only ingested but were also fragmented incredibly quickly into nanoplastics. Because these fragments are small enough to pass through cell membranes, it is thought they are likely to be potentially more damaging to wildlife than microplastics of up to 5mm in size. Dr Alicia Mateos-Cárdenas, the lead author of the research published in Scientific Reports, said that her findings were “completely unexpected”.

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