Know about nurdles, tiny plastic pellets strewn across Mumbai beaches

Recently, tiny lentil-sized pellets began to accumulate on Mumbai beaches, causing widespread concern among environmentalists and civil society. The pellets were first discovered on July 23 at Aksa Beach in northwestern Mumbai by a lifeguard. He mistook it for jellyfish, experts later confirmed it to be nurdles. 

What are they, basically micro plastics

Nurdles or “pre-production plastic pellets”, are the building blocks for most plastic products. Owing to their size which is less than 5mm, nurdles are by definition microplastic. The tiny beads can be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and other plastics. 

Nurdles are mostly released into the environment from plastic plants or when shipped around the world as raw material to factories. They are often mistaken for food by seabirds, fish and other wildlife. Researchers believe that eating nurdles can block the digestive tracks of organisms. This can even lead to deaths due to starvation. Once in the environment, they fragment into nano-particles, which are even more hazardous to aquatic life. This way, hundreds of fish species end up eating the plastics some of which are later consumed by humans. 

Impact on marine ecosystem

Nurdles form the second-largest source of micropollutants in the ocean, by weight, after tyre dust. Studies suggest that a staggering amount of 230,000 tonnes of nurdles end up in oceans every year approximately 10 trillion of them are projected to infiltrate the marine ecosystems. 

Research has also found that nurdles, like crude oil, are highly persistent pollutants. They remain in ocean currents for decades, wreaking havoc on the marine ecosystem. Furthermore, they act as "toxic sponges," attracting harmful chemical toxins and other pollutants that stick to their surfaces, even acting as ‘rafts ’ for harmful bacteria such as E. coli.

Research laying bare the impact of nurdles in the world’s oceans. Astoundingly, nurdles, unlike substances such as kerosene, diesel and petrol, are not deemed hazardous under the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) dangerous goods code for safe handling and storage. Activists have vociferously demanded its classification as hazardous which would make them liable to stricter conditions for shipping.

Present situation in Mumbai and Palghar

The first sighting of nurdles occurred at Aksa Beach on July 23. Thereafter, people began reporting them from Juhu and Versova beaches, and the neighbourhood district of Palghar as well, reported Hindustan Times. Crows and other birds were also photographed consuming them. Wednesday saw four entire bags of nurdles washed up at the high-tide line in Juhu. The contents of the three bags had ripped open which spread on the sand. An investigation by Scroll found that the sacks contained the name of Hanwha Total Energies Petrochemicals. This is a South Korean company that works in the construction, manufacturing, aerospace and green energy sectors.

It was also reported that no action has been taken by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board or the municipal corporations in Palghar and Mumbai till now. Experts have pointed out that bulldozers or other heavy machinery cannot be used for extracting nurdles from the beaches as they will compact the sand further and make it harder to extract. They believe that the only way out is to manually sieve them from the sand. 

It is with noting that in a similar incident in May 2021, a cargo ship MV X Press Pearl caught fire 10 miles off the Sri Lankan coast. It released approximately 75 billion nurdles into the Indian Ocean after it caught fire 10 miles off the Sri Lankan Coast. Further, the event had led to entire beaches being covered in a thick white layer of pellets, followed by the deaths of fish, turtles, dolphins and all manner of marine life.

Keep reading

• Big Sponge: cleaning CO2 through marine algae
• Impact of Nord Stream explosions on marine animals
• Overfishing in the FMPO industry, killing India’s marine ecosystem

Follow Ground Report for Climate Change and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Koo App, Instagram, Whatsapp and YouTube. Write us on [email protected].