Plastic Pellet Pollution Incident in the Congaree River Escalates

The environmental organization “Congaree River Keepers” in South Carolina, USA, has filed a lawsuit in federal court, accusing Alpek Polyester and Eastman Chemical Company of long-term discharge of large quantities of plastic pellets (commonly known as “plastic rice”) and the toxic chemical 1,4-dioxane into the Congaree River. Monitoring indicates plastic pellet concentrations in this river segment exceed safety standards by 20 times, posing a direct threat to the ecosystem of Congaree National Park downstream.