Plastics in the ocean are commonly thought of as a problem for animals mechanically. They can suffocate animals through entanglement, or upon ingestion plastic debris can cause blockage in the GI tract or can cause an organism to feel full and then starve.

    This “other” problem is less understood. It involves the chemical aspects of plastic debris in the ocean. Plastics work like a magnet for pollutants and various chemicals

such as Persistent Organic Pollutants will adhere to their surface at high concentrations. Examples of these are pesticides, flame retardants and petroleum residues. These pollutants ultimately end up in oceans as a result of industrial and agricultural runoff from land and ships.

    These pollutants can be harmful to marine organisms. Organic pollutants are often lipophilic (fat-loving) and readily accumulate in the tissue of marine organisms. We know that organisms ingest plastics upon mistaking them for food. Because plastics adsorb these pollutants at such high concentrations, there is a possibility that these magnified concentrations may be transferring to marine organisms upon ingestion. Plastic debris may be another medium for organic pollutants to enter the marine food web and accumulate at higher concentrations up the food chain.

    I study this issue at SDSU in the laboratory and In August of 2009 I was part of the science crew on a student cruise with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography to this infamous “Garbage Patch” in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

Great links to check out for information about this issue and the cruise to the North Pacific Gyre available at:

http://sio.ucsd.edu/Expeditions/Seaplex/

http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=17802

http://www.diveintoyourimagination.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnieCrawley#p/u/0/YZY_bgNRbbA

http://5gyres.org/