Chemistry professor Andreas Fath swims the length of the Danube to raise awareness about plastic waste. Four tonnes of microplastics end up in the Black Sea via the Danube every day — with consequences for people and the environment.
But the campaign is more than just PR: every day, his team takes water samples and analyses them for the microplastic particles, tire fragments and drug residue. The pollutants decimate biodiversity in the Danube. In human beings, microplastics weaken the immune system and can even cross the blood-brain barrier. Andreas Fath refuses to accept this — also out of pure self-interest: he is an enthusiastic competitive athlete and would rather swim in clean waters. Carola Grau followed him on his journey from the source to the mouth of the Danube.
The Danube has a problem: It suffers from an increase in plastic and pharmaceutical waste
Scientific study: Sedimentary microplastic concentrations from the Romanian Danube River to the Black Sea
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