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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Detection Methods Environmental Sources Marine & Wildlife Remediation Sign in to save

Microplastic pollution from pellet spillage: Analysis of the Toconao ship accident along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts

Marine Pollution Bulletin 2024 17 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Silvia Serranti, Silvia Serranti, Pietro Cocozza, Giuseppe Bonifazi Giorgio Anfuso, Silvia Serranti, Angela Rizzo, Silvia Serranti, Giuseppe Bonifazi Angela Rizzo, Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Pietro Cocozza, Silvia Serranti, Giorgio Anfuso, Pietro Cocozza, Silvia Serranti, Pietro Cocozza, Pietro Cocozza, Pietro Cocozza, Pietro Cocozza, Angela Rizzo, Pietro Cocozza, Silvia Serranti, Vincenzo M. Scarrica, Angela Rizzo, Angela Rizzo, Giorgio Anfuso, Silvia Serranti, Silvia Serranti, Angela Rizzo, Silvia Serranti, Giorgio Anfuso, Giuseppe Bonifazi Angela Rizzo, Giuseppe Bonifazi Silvia Serranti, Giorgio Anfuso, Pietro Cocozza, Silvia Serranti, Silvia Serranti, Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Angela Rizzo, Giorgio Anfuso, Giorgio Anfuso, Pietro Cocozza, Giorgio Anfuso, Giorgio Anfuso, Silvia Serranti, Giuseppe Bonifazi Silvia Serranti, Silvia Serranti, Antonino Staiano, Silvia Serranti, Giorgio Anfuso, Giorgio Anfuso, Silvia Serranti, Silvia Serranti, Angela Rizzo, Antonino Staiano, Silvia Serranti, Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Angela Rizzo, Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giuseppe Bonifazi Giorgio Anfuso, Angela Rizzo, Silvia Serranti, Silvia Serranti, Giuseppe Bonifazi Giorgio Anfuso, Giuseppe Bonifazi

Summary

Researchers analyzed microplastic pellet pollution along 633 kilometers of Spanish and Portuguese coastline following the 2023 Toconao ship accident that spilled 25 tons of pellets. They characterized over 7,000 sampled pellets by size, degradation level, color, and polymer type across 31 beaches. The study documents the geographic spread and environmental impact of a major pellet spillage event in the Northeast Atlantic.

Study Type Environmental

In December 2023, 25 tons of pellets were lost by the Toconao ship in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean in front of the Portuguese coast. In this work, a coastal stretch of 633 km in Asturias and Galicia (Spain) and Northern Portugal was investigated to assess pellets' concentration on 31 beaches. Field surveys were carried out in March 2024 and focused on sampling plastic pellets deposited along the shoreline. All the 7263 sampled pellets were characterized by size, degradation level, and color, while one subset was characterized by weight (40 % of the total) and another subset by polymer type (15 % of the total) using FT-IR spectroscopy. The results reveal that 94 % of the surveyed sites containing pellets, whereas the concentration values vary significantly among beaches, ranging from 0 to 40.3 pellets/kg<sub>dw</sub>. By combining the accounted variables, it emerges that 48.0 % of the collected pellets can be linked to the Toconao spill.

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