Sea turtles can die from swallowing one piece of plastic : Study
Canberra, Sep 14 : A sea turtle has a 22 per cent chance of dying if it eats just one piece of plastic, an Australian scientific institution revealed on Friday, quantifying for the first time the risk that plastic pollution poses to sea turtle populations.
Scientists found that there was a 50 per cent likelihood that a sea turtle would die if it had 14 plastic items in its gut, according to a statement from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
However, "even a single piece of plastic can kill a turtle", said Kathy Townsend of the University of the Sunshine Coast, who participated in the analysis of nearly 1,000 turtles found dead and washed up on beaches around Australia, reports Efe news.
"Some of the turtles we studied had eaten only one piece of plastic, which was enough to kill it. In one case, the gut was punctured, and in the other, the soft plastic clogged the gut," Townsend said.
Prior to this study, it was unclear if the plastics in the oceans killed sea turtles or if they simply ingested them without major harm.
Sea turtles are among the first animals recorded to consume plastic debris, a phenomenon that occurs worldwide in all seven species of marine turtles.
Globally, it is estimated that 52 per cent of sea turtles have eaten plastic. According to the UN, eight million tonnes of plastic waste ended up in the oceans each year.
The UN suggested that if this trend continues, there will likely be more plastics than fish in the oceans by 2050, as seabed pollution is already present in every region worldwide.
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Kurla bus tragedy: Court denies bail to accused driver again
Mumbai (PTI): A court here on Friday denied bail to the driver of the BEST bus, which was involved in an accident that killed nine persons and left 42 others injured four months back, saying the offence was serious in nature.
This was the second time the court denied bail to accused driver Sanjay More.
His fresh bail application was rejected by additional sessions judge V G Raghuwanshi.
The bus, operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, hit several vehicles and pedestrians after the driver lost control over the wheels on the S G Barve Marg in Kurla (West) around 9.30 pm on December 10.
Following the incident, the driver was arrested for offences committed under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
More made a fresh application for bail after the police filed the fresh chargesheet, stating the investigation was complete.
The bail plea said his further incarceration was unwarranted and that he had been "falsely implicated" in the case.
The accused claimed that Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) is not attracted in this case as there was "no intention to cause harm".
His plea termed the accident as "unfortunate".
The driver was given only three days of training to operate an electric bus, in spite of the mandatory requirement of 15 days, it said.
The prosecution, however, contended that there was no mechanical fault in the bus.
More had driven an electric bus for 728 kilometres. Therefore, he cannot say that proper training was not imparted to him, the prosecution submitted.
It said the informant, who is a police officer, witnessed the incident and according to him the bus was "being driven in a rash and reckless manner". The prosecution further submitted that the applicant had no psychological problem nor was he intoxicated at the time of incident.
After hearing both sides, the court noted that the previous bail order recorded "reasons in details" and there was "no change in circumstances".
"The offence is very serious, in which nine persons were killed, several persons were injured and several vehicles were damaged. This is not a fit case to exercise discretion in favour of the applicant," it added.
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