洗衣店是如何將塑料泄漏到海里的

洗衣店是如何將塑料泄漏到海里的

Off the coast of Cullercoats, in northeast England, researchers Max Kelly and Priscilla Carrillo-Barragan send a long tubular net into the depths of the North Sea.

在英格蘭東北部卡勒海岸附近，研究人員馬克斯·凱利和普里西拉·卡里略·巴拉根將一個(gè)長管狀的網(wǎng)放入北海深處。

Known as a vertical tow, the net is used to collect samples of microscopic zooplankton, whose health can serve as a bellwether for an ocean's overall wellbeing.

這種網(wǎng)被稱為“垂直拖網(wǎng)”，用來收集微觀浮游動(dòng)物的樣本，它們的健康狀況可以作為海洋整體健康狀況的風(fēng)向標(biāo)。

Newcastle University's Dove Marine Laboratory has been collecting microorganisms from these waters for the last 50 years, shedding light on the impact of changing nutrient levels and global warming. But now experts are studying the samples to examine a growing but almost invisible threat to our seas: plastic microfibers.

紐卡斯?fàn)柎髮W(xué)的達(dá)夫海洋實(shí)驗(yàn)室在過去的50年里一直在從這些水域收集微生物，揭示了營養(yǎng)水平變化和全球變暖的影響。但現(xiàn)在專家們正在研究這些樣本，以檢驗(yàn)一種日益增長但幾乎看不見的對(duì)海洋的威脅:塑料超細(xì)纖維。

Microplastics (those measuring up to 5 millimeters in diameter) make up almost a fifth of the 8 million tons of plastic that end up in the oceans each year. Of these, minuscule strands known as microfibers -- which largely come from synthetic clothing -- are the most common, according to Kelly, who researches marine biotechnology at the university.

在每年流入海洋的800萬噸塑料中，微塑料(直徑達(dá)5毫米的塑料)占了近五分之一。據(jù)在該大學(xué)從事海洋生物技術(shù)研究的凱利說，其中最常見的是被稱為超細(xì)纖維的微小纖維，這些纖維大部分來自合成服裝。

"A lot of our work is focused on polyester, and polyester is the most widely used synthetic fiber in the textile industry," he says. "So we're ... looking at (what happens) when we wash clothes, what polyester fibers come off and wash down the drain pipes into the ocean where they can be ingested by a wide range by animals."

他說:“我們的很多工作都集中在聚酯上，而聚酯是紡織業(yè)中使用最廣泛的合成纖維。”“我們…看看我們洗衣服的時(shí)候會(huì)發(fā)生什么，聚酯纖維掉下來，順著排水管流入海洋，然后被各種動(dòng)物吞食。”

Every time we do our laundry, our clothes shed millions of microfibers. Although wastewater treatment plants are able to catch as much as 99% of them, the rest can eventually flow into rivers, waterways and, ultimately, the ocean.

每次我們洗衣服的時(shí)候，我們的衣服都會(huì)脫落上百萬的超細(xì)纖維。盡管污水處理廠能夠捕捉到高達(dá)99%的超細(xì)纖維，但其余的最終會(huì)流入河流、水道，并最終流入海洋。

Invisible threat

無形的危害

With Monday marking World Oceans Day, much attention will be paid to the impact of plastic bags, bottles and discarded fishing nets on marine life. But while these pollutants pose serious threats to larger animals, it's microplastics that disrupt life at the very bottom of the food chain.

星期一是世界海洋日，人們將高度關(guān)注塑料袋、瓶子和被丟棄的漁網(wǎng)對(duì)海洋生物的影響。雖然這些污染物對(duì)大型動(dòng)物構(gòu)成嚴(yán)重威脅，但破壞食物鏈最底層生命的卻是微塑料。

According to Carrillo-Barragan, a research associate at Dove Marine Laboratory, the fibers have an immediate impact on the microorganisms themselves, on aspects such as feeding behavior, reproduction and larval development. This could, in turn, affect the health of the whole marine ecosystem.

卡里略·巴拉根是達(dá)夫海洋實(shí)驗(yàn)室的一名研究助理，據(jù)他說，這些纖維對(duì)微生物本身有直接的影響，包括攝食行為、繁殖和幼蟲發(fā)育等方面。這反過來又會(huì)影響整個(gè)海洋生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的健康。

"It's been reported that instead of eating what they need, (microorganisms) are eating plastic so they don't get the nutrients they need," she explains. "And then, what the studies mention, is they don't develop as they should.

她解釋說:“據(jù)報(bào)道，(微生物)不吃它們需要的東西，而是吃塑料，所以它們得不到它們需要的營養(yǎng)。”然后，研究提到，它們沒有像它們應(yīng)該的那樣發(fā)展。

Fast fashion's impact

快時(shí)尚的影響

At the root of the problem is a global textile industry that Kelly says produces more than 40 million tons of synthetic fabrics a year. The vast majority of this is polyester clothing, he explains, while acknowledging the material's many benefits.

凱利說，問題的根源是全球紡織業(yè)每年生產(chǎn)4000多萬噸合成纖維織物。他解釋說，絕大多數(shù)是聚酯纖維服裝，同時(shí)他也承認(rèn)這種材料的許多好處。
"It's a great material to make clothing," he concedes. "It's very breathable. It is used a lot for sports and outdoor activity. They dry really well and it's a cheap material as well. It is very durable and lightweight.

“這是做衣服的好材料，”他承認(rèn)它非常透氣。它被廣泛用于體育運(yùn)動(dòng)和戶外活動(dòng)。它們很容易干，而且是一種便宜的材料。它非常耐用和輕便。

"So it is ideal in terms of clothing. However ... that durability makes it very difficult to degrade."

“所以它是理想的服裝。然而……這種耐久性使得它很難降解。”