佛罗里达州坦帕湾被40亿个塑料微粒污染

研究发现，佛罗里达州坦帕湾被40亿个塑料微粒污染

There are more than 4 billion bits of microplastic floating in Tampa Bay, according to a new study.

根据一项新的研究，坦帕湾漂浮着超过40亿个塑料微粒。

Researchers collected samples of water and sentiment from Tampa Bay over the course of more than a year and found an average of one particle of microplastic for every liter — which led to their calculation that the entire bay contains at least 4 billion particles.

研究人员在一年多的时间里收集了坦帕湾的水和情感样本，发现平均每升海水中含有一粒微塑性微粒，这使得他们计算出整个坦帕湾至少含有40亿粒微粒。

“This is a very important study in that it is the first for our region and shows the extent of the problem,” said Henry Alegria, an environmental scientist at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and a co-author of the study.

南佛罗里达大学圣彼得堡分校的环境科学家、该研究的合著者亨利·阿莱格里亚说：“这是一项非常重要的研究，因为这是我们地区的第一项研究，显示了问题的严重性。”

“It also provides a vital baseline on total numbers and distribution. This is important for management plans moving forward to show whether future actions and policies are effective at reducing these particles in our environment.”

“它还提供了总数量和分布的重要基线。这对未来的管理计划很重要，它将显示未来的行动和政策是否能有效减少我们环境中的这些颗粒物。”

Microplastics, which are defined as tiny bits of plastic that are 5 millimeters long or smaller, have been discovered in a range of far-flung places, including the Arctic. They can come from larger pieces of plastic that have partially broken down, but the most typical source in the Tampa Bay study was from fibers originating in fishing lines, nets and synthetic clothes.

微塑料被定义为5毫米或更小的塑料微粒，在包括北极在内的许多遥远的地方都被发现了。它们可能来自已经部分分解的较大塑料碎片，但坦帕湾研究中最典型的来源是来自钓鱼线、渔网和合成服装中的纤维。

Although the study’s findings seem substantial and perhaps even shocking, the researchers said their estimate might be conservative because their collection in the bay occurred several feet below the water’s surface, likey missing more buoyant microplastics.

尽管这项研究的发现似乎是实质性的，甚至可能是令人震惊的，但研究人员说，他们的估计可能是保守的，因为他们在海湾的收集发生在水面以下几英尺的地方，就像缺少了更具浮力的微塑料一样。

“Although it is tempting to clean up the mess, it is not feasible to remove these particles from the water column or separate them out from sediments.”

“尽管清理这些垃圾很有诱惑力，但从水柱中清除这些颗粒或将它们从沉积物中分离出来是不可行的。”

McEachern added: “Only by removing the sources of plastics and microplastic particles can we successfully decrease the potential risks of plastics in the marine environment.”

McEachern补充说:“只有去除塑料和微塑料颗粒的来源，我们才能成功地降低塑料在海洋环境中的潜在风险。”

The study was published in the November issue of the Marine Pollution Bulletin.

这项研究发表在11月份的《海洋污染公报》上。