KATHMANDU, Nepal-Pollution with plastic waste are not only limited to the oceans, rivers and mountain but posing a great threat to crystal like lakes as well, the researchers warned. Their caution floated after a deep study of Italy’s Lake Garda where they found substantial concentration of the plastic contents.
The levels of substance found in the Garda, were alike those found in samples brought from marine beach sediments, according to the research published in the journal, Current Biology.
Researchers also caution that those ‘tiny plastic particle collected in the fresh water species’ were likely to pass into food chain.
During the course of study at Lake Garda, a large, sub-alpine body of water, the researchers discovered significant concentrations of plastic in sediment samples. They spotted around 1,000 larger particles per square metre on the north shore while they found 450 micro-plastic particles in the same area.
“We were surprised,” BBC quoted author and Prof Christian Laforsch of the University of Bayreuth as saying adding that they had spotted similar amounts of plastic particles in the sediment of the lake’s ecosystem.
Plastic waste and the chemicals coming born from them can cause cancers and damage endocrine systems, according to experts.
‘What we show is that filter feeders, sediment feeders and organisms that feed on the surface layer of the lake, all swallow these plastic particles mistaking them for food,’ Prof Laforsch said.
“There might be impacts when it affects the hormone system, they could become sterile for example. It could also be, that when fish are feeding on these organisms they accumulate these particles also in their tissue.”
The scientists are also concerned that the discovery of significant amounts of plastic in lake environments could lay impact on human populations as the water is often used for drinking and for agriculture.
The issues of pollutants triggered by plastic related matter have been screened in the recent years depicted that plastic waste affects the sea creatures and their movement s into the water beside human beings.
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location and is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan.
