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UN environmental expert stresses plastic waste choking Arctic

Ekaterina Tegina recalled that plastic garbage makes up three-quarters of the sources of contamination in the World Ocean

MURMANSK, November 15. /TASS/. Plastic waste accounts for a significant portion of contaminating substances in the Arctic and its fragments have been found in the flesh of fish and mammals inhabiting the northern regions, said Ekaterina Tegina, coordinator of the UN Environment's program in Russia.

"Plastic litter makes up three-quarters of the sources of contamination in the World Ocean, and most of it is trapped in the Arctic. Microplastics, nanoplastics are fragments of organic polymers, similar to persistent pollutants. Today plastic scraps are found in the flesh of fish, and mammals, which form the basis of the Arctic population’s nourishment," the expert told the 7th environmental forum called "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in the North."

Tegina added that scientists increasingly point to the negative impact of plastic and a high level of plastic waste in the Arctic, not to mention other contaminating substances. "Apart from organic pollutants, crude oil, heavy metals, and disaster aftermaths, particularly from oil spills, there are large amounts of plastic litter, which is harmful," she emphasized.

The expert pointed out that the amount of microplastics in the water and on the seabed is constantly on the rise.

"It so happened that the Arctic is the global "collector" of pollutants with all garbage reaching the region, even from very remote areas. Litter passes through rivers and drains, and streams carry it into the Arctic," Tegina explained, noting that tourism plays a huge role in the plastic contamination of the Arctic.

The 7th "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development in the North" forum, organized by Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel, and the Environmental Fund of the Siberian Federal University, will take place in Murmansk on November 15-16. Representatives of government and production enterprises, ecologists and scientists will participate in the event.

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