Casualty at Port of Tyne Caused Large Release of Plastic Nurdles

Plastic nurdle spills are among the least-desired forms of pollution for coastal states: They are difficult to remediate, persist for years, and are harmful to wildlife. But they recur regularly because nurdles are a common global commodity, as stakeholders at Port of Tyne, UK discovered this month.

When the WTIV Wind Orca allided with the moored container ship BG Orange at Port of Tyne last week, it damaged several containers on the small boxship's starboard side. Two of those boxes contained nurdles, and a substantial quantity of the tiny plastic beads were released into the water.

The wrecked containers have now been vacuumed out to remove any leftover plastic, the port says, but the effort to clean up the beads that got out into the wild will be more challenging. The British NGO Fidra estimates that about one billion small beads were released, and has organized volunteer events to clean up as much of the mess as possible. The fresh, white plastic beads have been spotted on shorelines up and down the Tyne estuary, and about five nautical miles north and south of Tynemouth on the North Sea shore. Barrier booms are being used where practical to prevent further spread in small channels, and Wind Orca's operator has pledged to deploy more resources to aid in the cleanup.

Nurdles are not immediately hazardous to human health, but they are a danger to birds and other wildlife. To animals they can look like an abundance of food, and birds and fish will ingest them instead of nutritious resources - often resulting in starvation and die-offs. The decomposition products (microplastics) also end up in the food web for commercial fish stocks, which are later ingested by consumers.

An investigation into the cause of the Wind Orca accident is under way. The casualty also caused the collapse of a gantry crane onto the top of BG Orange's deckhouse, and one person was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.