00:00We've long known that plastics, specifically microplastics, in our planet's waterways are a major problem.
00:09They've been found literally all over the world, from the deepest depths of the oceans to the highest peak of Mount Everest.
00:15They've even been found inside animals and humans.
00:17And while we knew its presence was likely not good for us, experts have just identified the first disease directly linked to microplastic ingestion.
00:24They've named it plasticosis, and it's caused when little bits of sharp plastic cut and tear at organs,
00:29inducing scar tissue to form.
00:31The study looked specifically at flesh-footed shearwaters, a species which dwells on an island a couple of hundred miles off the coast of Australia.
00:38There, researchers found that for years, shearwater chicks had begun dying off slowly, and they didn't know why.
00:43Now they've discovered it's all due to plasticosis.
00:46Autopsies revealed massive amounts of scarring in the stomach tissues of the deceased infant birds, leading to a mangled first stomach chamber.
00:53The scar tissue then prevents the stomach from adequately delivering digestive compounds, leading to less digestion and malnutrition.
00:59And even adult shearwater birds were at risk, as this one was found dead in 2022 with a stomach literally full of plastic, 202 pieces in total.
01:08With the researchers concluding, this may only be the first of a likely long list of consequences to such widespread plastic pollution.
