Fire and Oil Led to Complex Mixtures of PAHs on Burnt and Unburnt Plastic during the M/V X-Press Pearl Disaster

In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl containershipburned for 2 weeks, leading to the largest maritime spill of resinpellets (nurdles). The disaster was exacerbated by the leakage ofother cargo and the ship's underway fuel. This disaster affordsthe unique opportunity to study a time-stamped, geolocated releaseof plastic under real-world conditions. Field samples collected frombeaches in Sri Lanka nearest to the ship comprised nurdles exposedto heat and combustion, burnt plastic pieces (pyroplastic), and oil-plasticagglomerates (petroplastic). An unresolved question is whether the1600+ tons of spilled and recovered plastic should be considered hazardouswaste. Due to the known formation and toxicity of combustion-derivedpolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), we measured 20 parent and21 alkylated PAHs associated with several types of spilled plastic.The maximum PAH content of the sampled pyroplastic had the greatestamount of PAHs recorded for marine plastic debris (199,000 ng/g).In contrast, the sampled unburnt white nurdles had two orders of magnitudeless PAH content. The PAH composition varied between the types ofspilled plastic and presented features typical of and conflictingwith petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. Nevertheless, specific markersand compositional changes for burning plastics were identified, revealingthat the fire was the main source of PAHs. Eight months after thespill, the PAH contents of sampled stray nurdles and pyroplastic werereduced by more than 50%. Due to their PAH content exceeding levelsallowable for plastic consumer goods, classifying burnt plastic ashazardous waste may be warranted. Following a largely successful cleanup,we recommend that the Sri Lankans re-evaluate the identification,handling, and disposal of the plastic debris collected from beachesand the potential exposure of responders and the public to PAHs fromhandling it. The maritime disaster underscores pyroplastic as a typeof plastic pollution that has yet to be fully explored, despite thepervasiveness of intentional and unintentional burning of plasticglobally.

Automated summary

In May 2021, the M/V X-Press Pearl containership burned for 2 weeks, causing the largest maritime spill of resinpellets. The spill consisted of nurdles exposed to heat and combustion, burnt plastic pieces, and oil-plastic agglomerates. The burned plastic had a high content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), suggesting the need to classify it as hazardous waste. The disaster highlights the need to re-evaluate the handling and disposal of plastic debris collected from beaches.