Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch
“composed of tiny plastic bits that linger unseen beneath the surface, ranging in size from a few square inches to barely visible specks.”
Most of the plastic do not mineralize in the ocean
“minerlization is the full degradation into carbon dioxide, water and inorganic molecules” most of plastic are derived from propylene, a simple chemical components of petroleum.
“when heated up in the presence of a catalyst, individual chemical units monomers of propylene link together by forming extremely strong carbon-carbon bonds with each other. This results in polymers long chains of monomers called polypropylene.” nature do not build polypropylene molecules …show more content…
The plastic debris are vehicles for introducing dangerous pollutant, include the PCBs, DDT and PAHs. These are “highly toxic and have a wide range of chronic effects, including endocrine disruption and cancer-causing mutations. When animals eat these plastic pieces, the toxins are absorbed into their body and passed up the food chain.” It could also passed down to our dinner plates. plastic molecule is “made by linking (polymerizing) literally thousands of chemical fragments called monomers that never complete, always leaving some monomers unattached and free to migrate out into whatever medium the plastic comes in contact. Some of the monomers are inherently toxic. some plastic have additive mix with desired properties into them. these additive can be toxic.
A study published in December in the journal Environmental Science & Technology addresses a third but external source of toxic substances associated with plastics, deriving from oily pollutants commonly found in seawater that glom onto the surface of plastic