Plastic pellets spill pollutes north Spanish coast

Pellet cleaning in Spain

Source: © Adrian Irago/Europa Press/Getty Images

While analytical reports predict minimal effects to human health, microplastics could chronically harm marine organisms and ecosystems

Several tonnes of plastic pellets have spilled along the northern coast of Spain it has now been officially confirmed. The spill was first spotted by environmental associations in December, after a Liberia-registered cargo ship lost six Maersk containers, one of which held over a thousand 25kg bags of pellets – an estimated total of 1.5 trillion pieces of microplastics. So far, the spill has reached beaches in Galicia and Asturias in Spain, as well as some parts of Portugal.