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STORY: IAEA / ANTARCTICA MICROPLASTICS
TRT: 04:21
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 JANUARY 2024, RIO GALLEGOS, ARGENTINA / 05 JANUARY 2024, BASE MARAMBIO ANTARCTICA / 06 JANUARY 2024, BASE ESPERANZA ANTARCTICA / 06 JANUARY 2024, BASE MARAMBIO ANTARCTICA
05 JANUARY 2024, RIO GALLEGOS, ARGENTINA
1. Med shot, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi meeting with scientists from the IAEA marine environment laboratories before departing for Antarctica
2. Med shot, Grossi on the Hercules travelling to Antarctica
05 JANUARY 2024, BASE MARAMBIO, ANTARCTICA
3. Aerial shot, view from the Hercules
4. Wide shot, arrival in Base Marambio
5. Wide shot, delegation welcome and tour of the base
6. Aerial shot, view from helicopter
06 JANUARY 2024, BASE ESPERANZA, ANTARCTICA
7. Wide shot, helicopter arriving at Base Esperanza
8. Various shots, Grossi and Argentine President Javier Milei arrive at Base Esperanza and tour the base
9. Various shots, penguins near the base
10. Various shots, IAEA scientists collecting samples
11. Various shots, IAEA scientists demonstrate for Grossi and Milei how they will sample penguin droppings, sediment and water and explain the process
06 JANUARY 2024, BASE MARAMBIO ANTARCTICA
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
“A scientific campaign that we are starting for the first time in history between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Argentine Republic, aimed at determining the presence of plastics in the Antarctic environment, something that has never been done and is known to be a global problem. But unfortunately, the international community still lacks scientific data that can support any decision that may be taken. This is what this program is all about and knowing what problem we have.”
13. Wide shot, launch of the new microplastics research project at Base Marambio
14. Various shots, IAEA scientists at Base Marambio processing water samples taken on Antarctica before their eventual analysis back in Monaco
15. Various shots, aerial views of Antarctica
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in cooperation with Argentina, launched its first scientific research expedition to investigate the presence of microplastics in Antarctica as part of efforts to combat this growing environmental problem, even in the planet’s most remote areas.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi travelled on Friday (5 Jan) to Antarctica with the President of Argentina, Javier Milei to launch a new project to better understand the scope of the problem.
Research has shown microplastics - plastic particles below five mm in diameter - are already present in Antarctica.
IAEA scientific experts from its Marine Environment Laboratories in Monaco will remain in Antarctica to collect samples for later analysis under the IAEA’s NUTEC Plastics initiative (NUclear TEChnology for Controlling Plastic Pollution).
Milei, and Grossi joined the IAEA scientific team at the Marambio and Esperanza Argentine Antarctic Bases to mark the start of their mission.
A two-person research team will set off for one month to assess the impact of microplastics by investigating its occurrence and distribution in seawater, lakes, sediments, sand, discharge water and animals of the Antarctic ecosystem near the Argentine Carlini scientific research station.
Through a network of NUTEC Plastic Monitoring Laboratories, nuclear and isotopic techniques are being used to produce data on marine microplastics distribution by sampling and analysing the prevalence of microplastics in the environment. These precise scientific data represent important information for developing plastic mitigation and disposal measures and policies.
At an event to launch the mission on 6 January at the Argentine Antarctic Base Marambio, Director General Grossi said that the discovery of microplastics in the once untouched Antarctic environment serves as a testament to the influence of the widespread and detrimental pollutant.
Grossi said, “a scientific campaign that we are starting for the first time in history between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Argentine Republic, aimed at determining the presence of plastics in the Antarctic environment, something that has never been done and is known to be a global problem. But unfortunately, the international community still lacks scientific data that can support any decision that may be taken. This is what this program is all about and knowing what problem we have.”
The presence of microplastics can contribute to accelerating the ice-loss in Antarctica by reducing ice reflectivity, altering surface roughness, promoting microbial activity, acting as thermal insulators, and contributing to mechanical weakening of the ice structure. When combined with climate change, atmospheric conditions, and oceanic influences, the presence of microplastics will deepen the devastating impact of polar ice melting in Antarctica. In addition, microplastics entering the food chain of Antarctic organisms negatively affects the health of Antarctic life and their resilience to climate change.
