Currently Russian and international teams are researching the processes of pollution and distribution
All researchers note that in almost every sample they found plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, which were represented by polymer threads, granules or fragments.
Katerina Shalunova, senior lecturer at the Department of Environmental Safety and Sustainable Development of Regions, St. Petersburg State University
The main danger of plastic in the Arctic is that animals, fish and birds can easily confuse it with food. Microplastics are believed to enter the Arctic through the Gulf Stream.
To solve this problem, scientists at the Institutebiophysicists of the SB RAS have developed a technology for producing special biopolymers - polyhydroxyalkanoates, which are produced in nature by bacteria under certain conditions. The peculiarity of the resulting material is that it is destroyed into non-toxic compounds, for example, carbon dioxide and water.
Researchers tested how bioplastics behave in different climatic conditions, and found that it is capable of degradation in subarctic latitudes, which means it is not dangerous.
Since the safety of bioplastic has been proven, the scope of its application can be expanded, the authors of the work believe.
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