Along the coast of the Canary Islands, researchers discovered clumps of hardened tar with microplastic particles. This was found to be a common occurrence across the coastline resulting in the term ‘plastitar’. This is a unique combination of two usual pollutants, both of which are contaminants that threaten marine life.
Javier Hernández Borges, an associate professor of analytical chemistry at the University of La Laguna in Tenerife coined the term, explaining, “Now it’s giving rise to new formations; in this case, one that combines two contaminants” to The Guardian.
Photograph: Domínguez-Hernández, et. al
How is plastitar formed?
According to The Guardian, its formation begins with oil spills. Tar residue from these incidents hardens and washes onto the shore of the Canary Islands as tar balls which then cling to microplastics also brought to the shore by currents. Microplastics are small particles of plastic measuring less than 5mm, as explained by IISD. These particles are eroded from larger pieces of plastic litter over time.
Though being discovered two years ago, this pollutant is still regarded as an “unassessed threat” academically. However, researchers are concerned about the toxicity of this new pollutant. The Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in tar may have moderate to high acute toxicity toward aquatic organisms.
The discovery of plastitar is recent in the discovery and identification of marine pollutants influenced by humans. This is among other discoveries and classifications such as plasticrust and nanoplastics.
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