The River Thames has some of the highest recorded levels of microplastics for any river in the world.
與世界上其他河流比起來，泰晤士河的微塑膠碎片含量名列前茅。
來源：Helen Briggs, BBC, 21 JUL 2020, 原文網址Scientists have estimated that 94,000 microplastics per second flow down the river in places.
科學家估計在泰晤士河的部份地點，微塑膠片的流量達到每秒94000片。
The quantity exceeds that measured in other European rivers, such as the Danube and Rhine.
這樣的量超過了其他歐洲河流的量測結果，像是多瑙河與萊茵河。
Tiny bits of plastic have been found inside the bodies of crabs living in the Thames.
And wet wipes flushed down the toilet are accumulating in large numbers on the shoreline.
在泰晤士河的螃蟹體內已經發現了微小的塑膠碎片。在河岸也發現了大量被沖入馬桶的溼紙巾。
Researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, are calling for stricter regulations on the labelling and disposal of plastic products.
倫敦大學皇家哈洛威學院的研究員呼籲對塑膠製品的標示與丟棄施加更嚴格的規範。
They warn that careless disposal of plastic gloves and masks during the coronavirus pandemic might make the problem of plastic pollution worse.
他們警告在武漢肺炎疫情下隨意丟棄塑膠手套與口罩可能讓塑膠污染問題更形惡化。
"Taken together these studies show how many different types of plastic, from microplastics in the water through to larger items of debris physically altering the foreshore, can potentially affect a wide range of organisms in the River Thames," said Prof Dave Morritt from Royal Holloway.
皇家哈洛威學院的戴夫莫利教授說："綜合許多研究顯示，塑膠廢棄物的種類相當多樣，有水中漂浮的微塑膠碎片，也有大到可以改變灘頭地貌的廢棄物，這些都有可能影響整個泰晤士河的生態系運作機制。"
"The increased use of single-use plastic items, and the inappropriate disposal of such items, including masks and gloves, along with plastic-containing cleaning products, during the current Covid-19 pandemic, may well exacerbate this problem."
The scientists point out that the Thames is cleaner than it used to be with respect to some pollutants, such as trace metals.
"處在當前武漢肺炎的疫情下，一次性塑膠用品的用量增加與隨意丟棄，包含手套與口罩，還有塑膠包覆的衛生用品，都可能會讓這個問題惡化。" 這位科學家指出，就比較某些污染源（例如微量金屬）看來，泰晤士河的確是有變得比較乾淨。
What plastics were found in the River?
河內發現了哪些塑膠？
Many forms of microplastics were found in the Thames, including glitter, microbeads from cosmetics and plastic fragments from larger items.在泰晤士河內發現了各式各樣的塑膠碎片，包含化妝品內用的亮片、柔珠，與其他大型物品內的塑膠碎片。
The bulk of the microplastics came from the break-down of large plastics, with food packaging thought to be a significant source.
大量的塑膠碎片是由塑膠垃圾分解出來的，尤其食品包裝更被認為是來源的大宗。
"Flushable" wet wipes were found in high abundance on the shoreline forming "wet wipe reefs".
在河岸發現大量"可以沖入馬桶"的溼紙巾，多到可以說是"溼紙巾礁石"了。
Study researcher, Katherine McCoy, said, "Our study shows that stricter regulations are needed for the labelling and disposal of these products. There is great scope to further research the impacts of microplastics and indeed microfibres on Thames organisms."
研究學者凱薩琳麥考說："我們的研究顯示塑膠製品的標示與丟棄需要施加更嚴格的規範。要更進一步研究塑膠碎片與微細纖維對泰晤士河生態系的影響則是更大的範疇了。"
Where does the plastic come from?
這些塑膠從哪裡來？
Fibres from washing machine outflows and potentially from sewage outfalls, plus fragments from the breakup of larger plastics, such as packaging items and bottles, which are washed into the river.從洗衣機流出的纖維與下水道排水口可能流出的大型塑膠製品的碎片，例如包材、瓶罐，這些都被排到河裡了。
Katharine Rowley of Royal Holloway said it's unclear why there's such a high density of plastic in the River Thames, but called for people to think about the plastic they use and throw away.
皇家哈洛威學院的凱薩琳羅莉說：為何泰晤士河內的塑膠密度如此的高其原因尚不明確。但仍呼籲大家在使用與丟棄塑膠前請三思。
"People can make much more of a difference than they might think," she said.
她說：其實大家能做的比想像得到的還要多很多。
What is the plastic doing to wildlife in the river?
塑膠對河內的生物的影響為何？
Some animals living in the river are ingesting microplastics, including two species of crab.有些棲息於河內的生物會攝取塑膠碎片，其中包含兩種螃蟹。
Crabs contained tangled plastic in their stomachs, including fibres and microplastics from sanitary pads, balloons, elastic bands and carrier bags.
在螃蟹的胃內發現了纏繞著的塑膠，包含來自於衛生棉、氣球、橡皮筋與塑膠袋的纖維與塑膠碎片。
- Seeking the 'plastic score' of the food on our plates
- Birds 'ingesting hundreds of bits of plastic a day'
- Microplastics are 'littering' riverbeds.
研究學者亞力士麥格朗說："將這些螃蟹帶回國家歷史博物館的實驗室的時候，大家都很驚訝這些螃蟹體內都充滿了塑膠。"
"Tangles of plastic were particularly prevalent in the invasive Chinese mitten crab and we still don't fully understand the reason for this."
"在外來種中華絨螯蟹的體內特別多這種纏繞的塑膠，我們還沒辦法完全理解為何如此。"
Clams near the wet wipe "reefs" contained synthetic polymers, some of which may have originated from the wet wipes and other pollutants found on the site such as sanitary items.
在"溼紙巾礁石"附近棲息的蛤蠣體內含有合成聚合物，有些聚合物可能來自於溼紙巾與其他也在當地發現的污染物，像是衛生用品。
How do the findings compare with other rivers?
這樣的結果與其他河流相比如何？
Much of the work on microplastics has been carried out in seas and oceans rather than rivers.相較於河流，對於塑膠碎片在海洋的影響已有大量研究。
By comparison, the Thames has higher quantities of microplastics than levels recorded in the Rhine in Germany, the Danube in Romania, the River Po in Italy and the Chicago River in the US.
與德國的萊茵河、羅馬尼亞的多瑙河、義大利的波河還有美國的芝加哥河比較起來，泰晤士河量測到較高的塑膠碎片含量。
However, levels appear lower than those reported for China's Yangzte river.
Other scientists previously tested river sediments at 40 sites throughout Greater Manchester and found "microplastics everywhere".
但是，比起中國的長江來含量較少。其他科學家先前對大曼徹斯特區的40個點檢測沈澱物的結果顯示"塑膠碎片到處都是"。
The latest research was carried out in collaboration with the Natural History Museum and Zoological Society, London.
最新的研究由國家歷史博物館與倫敦動物學會共同進行。
Dr Paul Clark of the Natural History Museum said, "What our students have shown in this collaboration is that although the Thames is certainly cleaner with regards some chemical pollutants, eg. heavy metals, the River is severely polluted with plastic. And once again our wildlife is threatened."
國家歷史博物館的保羅克拉克博士說："在合作研究的結果中，我們的學生發現，雖然泰晤士河就某些化學污染物來說已經明顯減少（例如重金屬）。但該河仍受到嚴重的塑膠污染。而我們的野生動物又再一次的受到生命威脅。"
The research is reported in two papers in Environmental Pollution and in one paper in Science of the Total Environment.
這項研究在"環境污染"期刊發表了兩篇論文，在"整體環境科學"期刊發表了一篇。
註釋：
in places: 某幾處。
trace metals: 人體內的微量金屬，鐵、鋅、銅、鋰等
prevalent: 廣佈的
synthetic polymers: synthetic合成，polymers聚合物
sediment: 沈澱物
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