Plastic's Global Footprint

by Pradakshina Fellow Janani M.

Ship Disaster in Sri Lanka:

On May 20, 2021, a container ship on its way to Colombo, Sri Lanka caught on fire. It was carrying 350 metric tonnes of heavy fuel oil in its tanks and containers of dangerous chemicals including nitric acid (an extremely toxic chemical used to make fertilizers). In addition to the oil and chemical spill, the fire burnt for 13 days and contaminated the ocean with 80 tons (160k pounds) of plastic pellets, which are raw materials used to make plastic products, and covered western beaches along Sri Lanka's coast. By the end of June, over 200 carcasses of dead fish, dolphins, turtles, and even a whale, had been found due to the effect of this disaster. "Experts warn the pellets will wash up for years to come and become a permanent part of the currents and tides of the world's oceans" (Regan & Thornton, CNN 2021). Plastic nurdles were getting trapped in fish's gills and mouths, causing them to suffocate and die. Many rare sea turtles washed up on Sri Lanka's beaches and some had what appeared to be scorch marks on their shells.

Here is a first hand account on the situation from my grandma, Thirumany Ramanchandran, who lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. "The ship's name was X-press Pearl. It started from Qatar via Dubai via Harras airport near Bombay arriving at Colombo city port. The containers had ammonium sulphate and nitric acid. The raw plastic materials, because of the chemicals started reacting owing to the heat. It caught fire and the neighbouring plastic materials melted and leaked to the water. It was an understanding that these chemicals were loosely packed in the containers of which the floor was made of plywood this makes a way to inflame. And it went on to all containers of plastic raw materials. Ammonium Sulphate chemicals started reacting when they were loading it started burning and as a result everything dropped to the sea."

According to Hemanatha Withanage, an environmental campaigner, 20,000 families in Sri Lanka had to stop fishing because of the pollution of plastic pellets in the ocean. Additionally, for 40% of Sri Lankans, fish is their main protein source -- now, that has reduced drastically. I think this situation is really devastating because the impact will not only have irreversible effects on the environment and beaches in/near Sri Lanka, but also the livelihoods of many who rely on fish for their food and income. It shows how a single tragedy of spilling plastic pellets will linger for generations to come, washing up on shores everywhere, and affecting precious wildlife.