The United Kingdom's Environment Agency opened a "pollution investigation," according to the BBC, after "millions" of black plastic beads were found near a river in Greater Manchester.
What's happening?
Caroline Brice, a local involved with Love Springwater Park, told the BBC that she first spotted the strange black beads during the summer.
Brice was visiting Springwater Park nature reserve in Whitefield when she noticed beads in the River Irwell in concentrations so dense "you could just scoop them" out of the water.
According to the BBC, a "huge number" of the pellets, known as biobeads, have since been found in and around the river.
Biobeads are used in wastewater treatment facilities to provide surface area for bacterial attachment. The outlet noted that a nearby United Utilities wastewater treatment plant uses the beads in its processes before discharging treated water into the river.
Chris Malkin, another Love Springwater Park volunteer, said the group investigated the issue after a woman told members that her dog was "covered" in beads after exiting the water.
"We went down and saw that the riverbed was covered in black beads, and there must have been millions of them," Malkin recalled.
Why is this concerning?
In November, several British news agencies reported a nearly identical situation unfolding on Camber Sands beach in East Sussex.
A gargantuan quantity of black biobeads had begun washing ashore, and witnesses described it as "millions" of tiny pollutants.
Once again, a nearby wastewater treatment facility was known to use black biobeads. A utility, Southern Water, subsequently admitted that an accidental discharge of plastic beads into the ocean had occurred following an equipment failure.
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Definitely 👍 In both instances, local volunteers played an outsized role in identifying, reporting, and ultimately remediating the issue.
As the BBC observed, biobeads are extremely hazardous to wildlife. They can be mistaken for food, cause digestive blockages, and could even contain toxic compounds.
Any plastic in waterways is also likely to shed microplastics, an emerging and severe public health risk caused by excessive environmental plastic. Plastic does eventually break down, but the process can take centuries.
As discarded plastic deteriorates at a glacial pace, it sheds extremely small particles known as microplastics. Microplastics are pervasive in the air, water, and soil, and in wildlife and humans.
Although research is ongoing, studies have linked microplastic pollution with serious, adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
What's being done about it?
A spokesperson for United Utilities characterized the biobeads as a "small number" of contaminants, acknowledging a "minor issue with the treatment process" that could have resulted in an accidental discharge of pellets.
An Environment Agency spokesperson stated that utilities are required to report any potential incidents of unintentional pollution, but "none reported this spill of plastic beads."
"We are actively investigating this incident and have inspected multiple locations in the Irwell catchment to gather evidence," the EA spokesperson added.
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