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THE CHALLENGES OF SCIENCE
What impact do plastics

have on marine organisms?

The workshop organised by the Monaco Science Centre and the International

Atomic Energy Agency focused on the known and emerging impacts of
microplastic pollution on marine organisms.

On Wednesday, 22 March 2023, as part of Monaco
Ocean Week, the Monaco Scientific Centre (CSM) IN
and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
brought together experts from the University of Ply- FIGURES
mouth, the University of Exeter, the Sea Education
Association, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- ■ Over the last 15 years, there has been an unprecedented
tution, Sorbonne University, and the French National increase in plastic pollution: more than 170,000 billion plastic
Centre for Scientific Research. At the CSM offices, re- particles (weighing between 1.1 and 4.9 million tonnes) are
searchers took stock of the current state of research floating in the world's oceans.
and knowledge on the impact of microplastics on (Source: Eriksen et al. (2023) A growing plastic smog, now estimated to be over 170
marine organisms. They also looked at ways of mini- trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans—Urgent solutions required.
mising environmental risk. PLoS ONE 18(3))

■ Of the 12,000 chemical additives used in plastics, more than
2,400 have been identified as substances of concern, meeting
one or more of the European Union's criteria for persistence,
bioaccumulation, and toxicity.
(Source: Helene Wiesinger et al (2021) Deep Dive into Plastic Monomers, Additives,
and Processing Aids. Environmental Science & Technology 55 (13))