Nonwoven mask found in green turtle’s excrement off Japan’s Iwate Prefecture
12:11 JST, March 27, 2022
A nonwoven mask was found in the excrement of a green turtle caught in August off Iwate Prefecture, according to a research group from the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and the University of Tokyo.
According to a report published by the group in an academic journal, the mask is made of polypropylene and more than 80% of the excrement was man-made substances such as plastic.
Cases of turtles swallowing plastic have been confirmed before, but a nonwoven mask has never been found in their excrement, the group said.
The researchers also examined chemicals used in nonwoven masks commercially available in Japan and detected ultraviolet absorbers — which are said to be endocrine disruptors — in the products of four of the five companies they studied. Ultraviolet absorbers are used an additive to prevent products from deteriorating when exposed to light.
“Marine life is exposed to chemical substances through the accidental ingestion of masks,” said Takuya Fukuoka, a marine ecology researcher at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. “The basic measure to prevent this is not to litter.”
"Science & Nature" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Yellow Sand Observed in Tokyo, Osaka, Many Other Parts of Japan
-
Solar Panels Around Southern Japan’s Mt. Aso Stoke Fears Over Landscape; Local Govt Scrambles to Preserve Nature
-
Govt, U.S. Sign Deal to Send 2 Japanese Astronauts to the Moon; Toyota to Contribute to Artemis Program with Lunar Cruiser
-
Studying Dinosaurs for Humanity’s Future
-
Jellyfish Invade Venezuelan Waters, Worrying Fishermen
JN ACCESS RANKING
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- Whaling Mother Ship Built in Japan for 1st Time in 73 Years