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Plastics in the Marine Environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Anthony M. Cundell
Anthony M. Cundell
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Pathology-Entomology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, U.S.A.
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Extract

The pollution of the marine environment by plastics such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and polyurethane, is discussed. As plastic materials are relatively resistant to oxidative ageing and are generally not degraded by microorganisms, they will accumulate in coastal and oceanic waters. The origin of plastic pollutants, their distribution in the marine environment, and their persistence and ultimate fate, are largely unknown. The technology is available to manufacture plastic materials with a programmed service life which, if widely adopted, would reduce the accumulation of plastics in the sea. But their random distribution should be discouraged on behalf of the marine environment.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , Spring 1974 , pp. 63 - 68
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1974

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