Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 9th Jan. UN International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday said that it is embarking journey to the Antarctic now, where the agency is using its nuclear knowhow to explore solutions to the global problem of plastic pollution.
IAEA in a press release issued in New York said that in cooperation with Argentina, a small team from the IAEA is deploying for one month to assess the impact of microplastics in the once pristine Antarctic environment.
The researchers’ plan is to investigate levels of microplastic in seawater, lakes, sediments, sand, discharge water and animals of the Antarctic ecosystem, near the Argentine Carlini scientific research station.
UN agency’s NUTEC initiative, 22 Antarctic sites will be monitored for microplastic pollution using radiation technology which has many uses including industrial recycling.
The process works by making use of gamma and electron beams to transform or recycle plastic waste into other products, such as construction materials, it said.
According to the UN atomic energy agency 70 per cent of all plastics produced in the world are waste material and only9% have been recycled so far.
