"Danger to the environment"

Microplastics also detected in glacial lakes

A Greenpeace employee takes a water sample at the Pasterze at the foot of the Großglockner - glacial lakes are unfortunately contaminated with plastic particles, as it turns out.

(Bild: Greenpeace/Mitja Kobal)

Bad news in the run-up to World Glacier Day on March 21: an analysis commissioned by Greenpeace has detected microplastics in all the glacial lakes examined.

The samples were taken last summer from the Pasterze, the Schlatenkees in East Tyrol, the Schmiedinger Lake on the Kitzsteinhorn and the Hallstatt Glacier and analyzed at the University of Exeter in England. Plastic particles were found in all the samples.

Particles from rubber abrasion or sports activities
A total of 13 different types of plastic were detected, "partly from textiles, packaging or industrial applications", according to the environmental protection organization. These originate from direct human activities on the glaciers, such as skiing or hiking, or are the result of activities in nearby settlements, such as rubber abrasion from car tires, which can be whirled up and transported over dozens of kilometers by wind and rain.

However, microplastics can also be transported over long distances via the atmosphere and reach even extremely remote regions via rain and snowfall. Microplastics in glacier water "not only pose risks to the immediate environment, aquatic life and local biodiversity, but can also contaminate drinking water sources in Austria", the NGO said in a press release on Tuesday.

Intensification of glacier protection required
Especially in the International Year of Glacier Conservation, it is not only important to fight against the melting of glaciers caused by global warming, but also to keep glaciers clean as important water reservoirs, Greenpeace emphasized and called for the intensification of glacier protection: In future, "moraines and glacier forelands should also be protected in environmental impact assessments, not just the glacier ice". It also calls for a stop to construction work on glaciers: "New dredging and blasting work on glaciers should be banned, as this destroys sensitive ecosystems and releases further microplastics."

The highest concentration of artificial fibers and particles was detected in a sample of the lake at the glacier tongue on the Schlatenkees in the Venediger group, far away from marked trails, where polyester, acrylates, polyamide, chlorinated polyethylene and chlorosulfonated polyethylene were found. The Little Ice Lake on the Hallstatt Glacier also proved to be heavily contaminated.

Blue fibers found in all fibers
Synthetic blue fibers, presumably from jeans, were found in all samples. Particles of microplastics are likely to come from polyester clothing, PET bottles or shoe soles, among other things. Samples were also taken from the Stubai Glacier. However, the sample bottles were broken during shipment to the laboratory of the Greenpeace Science Unit at the University of Exeter.

Negotiations on UN plastics agreement continue
In this context, Greenpeace Austria is also calling on the future Austrian federal government to adhere to the climate targets and reminds us that international negotiations on a UN plastics agreement are continuing: "Greenpeace is calling for 75 percent less plastic to be produced by 2040."

After the fifth round of negotiations in December, which was actually intended to be final and in which representatives from over 170 countries met for a week in Busan, South Korea, ended without agreement, negotiations are expected to resume at the end of May. While a coalition of over 100 countries - including the European Union - is campaigning for an upper limit on plastic production, oil states such as Saudi Arabia and Russia only want the agreement to focus on efficient waste management. According to the UN, around 400 million tons of plastic waste are produced globally every year, and the trend is rising.