Billions of Plastic Pellets
Among its cargo, the X-Press Pearl was carrying 78 tons of plastic pellets stored in 55-pound (25-kilogram) bags. The pellets—known as nurdles—are melted down to produce various different plastic products. The fire caused billions of nurdles to spill from the ship and wash onto Sri Lankan shores, blanketing the coast with what looks like swathes of white plastic snow.
The nurdles are small enough to be ingested by fish and other animals. This can cause numerous health problems and result in death as countless images of plastic-filled marine life have shown. Research has shown that sea turtles will even seek out plastic as a meal owing to its smell.
There’s a chance these nurdles could also be contaminated with other chemicals from the ship. All these toxins could work their way up the food chain, including to humans given that fish are a huge source of protein for the Sri Lankan population. In short, any trouble for fish spells trouble for people, too.
