Plastic pollution is a growing problem in Japan, prompting cleanup efforts to recover plastic litter from water bodies. However, research on recovery rates from different river basins remains limited. In a recent study, researchers from Japan conducted a nationwide analysis of plastic litter recovery in over 100 river basins, shedding light on the impact of climate change, population density, and natural disasters. Their findings will help inform future cleanup strategies and improve plastic management.

The results of the newest investigations carried out by scientists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN shed new light on the processes of accumulation of plutonium isotopes on glaciers of the Southern Hemisphere. Analyses of samples of cryoconite, a sediment that accumulates on glaciers, reveal not only differences in concentrations between the hemispheres but also indicate unprecedented isotope anomalies that may be related to accidents such as the fall of the Mars-96 spacecraft.