The number of microplastic particles in the Adriatic is increasing dramatically: ‘There is no sample that does not have at least one’

– If we lose one piece at all, it’s a minus. Even if it is present, it would be best if it didn’t have a single piece. So far, all the samples I’ve done have had microplastics. There is no sample that I have processed so far that did not have microplastics – Victor Stinga Perusco from the IRB center told Dnevnik Nova TV.

The number grows almost daily, and a large part of the fibers invisible to the eye come from households after washing clothes. It enters the organisms of fish, and then also into our organism through food. The impact on health, scientists say, has not yet been sufficiently researched.

Let us remind you that on the occasion of the World Environment Day, June 5, IRB scientists said that science is the key; solutions against this growing problem. Under the slogan of the #BeatPlasticPollution campaign, they then said that more than 11 million tons of plastic annually end up in the world’s waters, while an additional 13 million tons accumulate in the soil, with serious consequences for ecosystems and human health.

Apart from Rovinj, the problem of microplastics is dealt with at the Institute for Marine and Environmental Research in Zagreb. Among the projects is PlastOrgAnoTox, where the effects of microplastics on fish and mussels are analyzed in the Krka River, with a special focus on whether plastic is transferred within organisms.

Other research uses advanced computer models to predict the environmental costs of plastic and its impact on the growth, metabolism and reproduction of organisms.