Through its NUTEC Plastics initiative, the IAEA is helping build the capacity of laboratories around the world to deploy nuclear and isotopic techniques to monitor and assess the impact of marine plastic pollution. The agency has also been helping countries to improve plastic waste recycling through irradiation and other nuclear technologies.
The problem: Sometimes referred to as a “living laboratory of evolution” because of their isolated position in the Pacific Ocean some 600 miles west of mainland Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands have a reputation as a pristine sanctuary. Yet an estimated six tons of plastic waste wash ashore there each year from overseas, endangering the archipelago’s wildlife and environment.
Over the past decade, Galapagos National Park has developed a robust monitoring and cleanup program for larger plastic debris. However, microplastics—plastic particles smaller than five millimeters—pose a more complex challenge. Microplastics are easy for marine animals to ingest and may have negative impacts on their health. Their size also impedes traditional monitoring methods and has historically prevented the National Park from gathering usable data to implement monitoring and mitigation programs.
Data collection: As part of its NUTEC Plastics capacity building activities in Ecuador and Latin America, the IAEA has facilitated the procurement of nuclear derived tools and hands-on training to enable scientists in the region to assess and characterize microplastic pollution and, consequently, to generate quality data on marine microplastic pollution.
With its new capacity and advanced technology, INOCAR has become a regional hub for marine microplastic monitoring, analyzing samples from the Galapagos Islands and across Ecuador, as well as other South American countries and even Antarctica, supporting the collection of greater quantities of higher quality data.
According to the IAEA, as these projects unfold INOCAR will continue to conduct analyses on seawater and sand samples, while ESPOL will focus on biodiversity and marine and terrestrial organisms, enabling Galapagos National Park to better manage and protect these fragile ecosystems.
IAEA training also helps to harmonize data collection methods so that data collected in the Galapagos is comparable to data gathered by monitoring programs around the world, which helps to develop policy measures.
Quote: “Worldwide, NUTEC Plastics partners and members of its Global Marine Monitoring Network are working in a wide variety of marine and coastal environments, so monitoring protocols will vary accordingly,” said Carlos Alonso-Hernandez, an IAEA research scientist and technical officer for NUTEC. “Harmonizing these protocols enables us to compare data globally, which gives countries the whole picture of microplastic pollution.”
