洗衣店是如何将塑料泄漏到海里的

洗衣店是如何将塑料泄漏到海里的

Off the coast of Cullercoats, in northeast England, researchers Max Kelly and Priscilla Carrillo-Barragan send a long tubular net into the depths of the North Sea.

在英格兰东北部卡勒海岸附近，研究人员马克斯·凯利和普里西拉·卡里略·巴拉根将一个长管状的网放入北海深处。

Known as a vertical tow, the net is used to collect samples of microscopic zooplankton, whose health can serve as a bellwether for an ocean's overall wellbeing.

这种网被称为“垂直拖网”，用来收集微观浮游动物的样本，它们的健康状况可以作为海洋整体健康状况的风向标。

Newcastle University's Dove Marine Laboratory has been collecting microorganisms from these waters for the last 50 years, shedding light on the impact of changing nutrient levels and global warming. But now experts are studying the samples to examine a growing but almost invisible threat to our seas: plastic microfibers.

纽卡斯尔大学的达夫海洋实验室在过去的50年里一直在从这些水域收集微生物，揭示了营养水平变化和全球变暖的影响。但现在专家们正在研究这些样本，以检验一种日益增长但几乎看不见的对海洋的威胁:塑料超细纤维。

Microplastics (those measuring up to 5 millimeters in diameter) make up almost a fifth of the 8 million tons of plastic that end up in the oceans each year. Of these, minuscule strands known as microfibers -- which largely come from synthetic clothing -- are the most common, according to Kelly, who researches marine biotechnology at the university.

在每年流入海洋的800万吨塑料中，微塑料(直径达5毫米的塑料)占了近五分之一。据在该大学从事海洋生物技术研究的凯利说，其中最常见的是被称为超细纤维的微小纤维，这些纤维大部分来自合成服装。

"A lot of our work is focused on polyester, and polyester is the most widely used synthetic fiber in the textile industry," he says. "So we're ... looking at (what happens) when we wash clothes, what polyester fibers come off and wash down the drain pipes into the ocean where they can be ingested by a wide range by animals."

他说:“我们的很多工作都集中在聚酯上，而聚酯是纺织业中使用最广泛的合成纤维。”“我们…看看我们洗衣服的时候会发生什么，聚酯纤维掉下来，顺着排水管流入海洋，然后被各种动物吞食。”

Every time we do our laundry, our clothes shed millions of microfibers. Although wastewater treatment plants are able to catch as much as 99% of them, the rest can eventually flow into rivers, waterways and, ultimately, the ocean.

每次我们洗衣服的时候，我们的衣服都会脱落上百万的超细纤维。尽管污水处理厂能够捕捉到高达99%的超细纤维，但其余的最终会流入河流、水道，并最终流入海洋。

Invisible threat

无形的危害

With Monday marking World Oceans Day, much attention will be paid to the impact of plastic bags, bottles and discarded fishing nets on marine life. But while these pollutants pose serious threats to larger animals, it's microplastics that disrupt life at the very bottom of the food chain.

星期一是世界海洋日，人们将高度关注塑料袋、瓶子和被丢弃的渔网对海洋生物的影响。虽然这些污染物对大型动物构成严重威胁，但破坏食物链最底层生命的却是微塑料。

According to Carrillo-Barragan, a research associate at Dove Marine Laboratory, the fibers have an immediate impact on the microorganisms themselves, on aspects such as feeding behavior, reproduction and larval development. This could, in turn, affect the health of the whole marine ecosystem.

卡里略·巴拉根是达夫海洋实验室的一名研究助理，据他说，这些纤维对微生物本身有直接的影响，包括摄食行为、繁殖和幼虫发育等方面。这反过来又会影响整个海洋生态系统的健康。

"It's been reported that instead of eating what they need, (microorganisms) are eating plastic so they don't get the nutrients they need," she explains. "And then, what the studies mention, is they don't develop as they should.

她解释说:“据报道，(微生物)不吃它们需要的东西，而是吃塑料，所以它们得不到它们需要的营养。”然后，研究提到，它们没有像它们应该的那样发展。

Fast fashion's impact

快时尚的影响

At the root of the problem is a global textile industry that Kelly says produces more than 40 million tons of synthetic fabrics a year. The vast majority of this is polyester clothing, he explains, while acknowledging the material's many benefits.

凯利说，问题的根源是全球纺织业每年生产4000多万吨合成纤维织物。他解释说，绝大多数是聚酯纤维服装，同时他也承认这种材料的许多好处。
"It's a great material to make clothing," he concedes. "It's very breathable. It is used a lot for sports and outdoor activity. They dry really well and it's a cheap material as well. It is very durable and lightweight.

“这是做衣服的好材料，”他承认它非常透气。它被广泛用于体育运动和户外活动。它们很容易干，而且是一种便宜的材料。它非常耐用和轻便。

"So it is ideal in terms of clothing. However ... that durability makes it very difficult to degrade."

“所以它是理想的服装。然而……这种耐久性使得它很难降解。”