A pioneering IAEA mission to Antarctica has found evidence of microplastic pollution in lakes, shorelines and the ocean. These preliminary findings show how plastic pollution has reached every corner of the earth, and how microplastics are threatening the health of the global ocean.
The IAEA’s first scientific research mission to Antarctica through the IAEA’s NUTEC Plastic initiative was launched by IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and the President of Argentina Javier Milei in January. With the support of national authorities, IAEA experts joined Argentine scientists onboard the icebreaker Irizar on her trip between the three Argentine Antarctic Bases: Marambio, Esperanza and Carlini. The team, composed of IAEA and Argentine scientists, used Irizar’s fully functional onboard laboratories to prepare samples for analysis at the IAEA’s Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco while sharing their knowledge of nuclear technologies and protocols that can be applied in the Antarctic environment.