Plastic pellets spilled at the Port of Tyne in July may have been discovered as far away as Denmark, according to tests. Over 18 tons of nurdles were released into the North Sea, and clean-up efforts are still ongoing.
Discovery in Denmark
In September, plastic pellets were found along the western coast of Denmark. The Danish Environment Protection Agency has confirmed that tests on the microplastics suggest they originated from the River Tyne spill in July. The tests showed the nurdles had the same characteristics as the one billion spilled earlier this year. Their arrival in Denmark in late September and early October, about 390 miles away, was consistent with "current patterns and circulation in the North Sea."
Signe Simonsen, head of start-up Race for Oceans Technology, first spotted the nurdles on the island of Mandø in Denmark on September 26. She told the BBC: "There were just so many milk-white plastic pellets. So many that I've never seen before in this area." Simonsen said the discovery made her "really sad," considering the "pristine" nature of the Wadden Sea. She collected nurdles from ten different locations along the Danish coast and on Sylt, Germany.
Testing and Clean-up
Simonsen shared some samples with the Danish Environment Protection Agency, which tested the pellets in collaboration with Aarhus University. The agency noted that another factor indicating the Danish nurdles were similar to those spilled in the River Tyne was the absence of any other recorded spills in the area that could account for their presence.
Nurdles from the spill have been found along the North East coastline. As of September, about 28% of the nurdles are believed to have been recovered. The pellets were spilled after a collision between the vessel Wind Orca and the berthed container ship BG Orange at the Port of Tyne on July 19. A crane operator was also injured. Northumbria Police said it was investigating the collision, and so far, no one has been arrested. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is also investigating.
