GENEVA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Lake Geneva, one of the biggest lakes in Western Europe, which many Swiss believe is pristine and clean, is susceptible to the same plastic waste problems as the world's oceans, scientists said Wednesday.
A study, published in Frontiers in Environmental Science, was conducted by scientists from the Universities of Geneva in Switzerland and Plymouth in the United Kingdom into waste in the lake famous for its perch fillets, a local delicacy.
An analysis of plastic waste washed up from Lake Geneva revealed hazardous levels of bromine and cadmium that presents a clear threat to wildlife.
The researchers also detected high concentrations of mercury and lead among the litter.
It is the first such research for Lake Geneva and freshwater expanses as such research has focused on seas and oceans.
An analysis of plastic waste washed up from Lake Geneva has revealed hazardous levels of bromine and cadmium that present a clear threat to wildlife.
The team analyzed 3,000 objects, such as toys, pens, cotton swabs, food packaging and fragments of foam and polystyrene that washed up on the shores of the lake. Some 600 waste objects were also x-rayed in the laboratory.
"Plastics thrown into the lake hide a very harmful cocktail," headlined the front page of the Tribune de Genève newspaper. It asked, "Can we safely eat perch fillets and other lake fish?"
The bromine content of 19 articles was above the European Union limit while dangerous levels of cadmium were found in 57 articles. Lead was detected in a quarter of all objects, with 65 showing levels above the EU threshold.
Publishing the results in the "Frontiers in Environmental Science" journal, researchers said many objects had likely been floating in the water for a long time.
The authors warned that the plastic waste represents a threat to wildlife, either by eating or becoming entangled in objects, or through contamination by toxins.
"Most of these chemicals are no longer allowed in plastics today," said Montserrat Fillela one of the report's authors. "That said, in the water, plastic is very slow to disappear." Recent studies estimate that it takes about 450 years for a plastic bottle to disintegrate completely.
