OGS with the IAEA to tackle plastic pollution 

OGS is involved in the new platform launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to strengthen international collaboration and knowledge-sharing on the quantity and trends of microplastics in marine and coastal areas: the NUTEC Plastics Global Marine Monitoring Platform.

Nuclear Technology for Controlling Plastic Pollution NUTEC Plastics is the IAEA's flagship initiative to address the global challenge of plastic pollution by establishing a worldwide network of partners, monitoring the presence of plastics in the ocean, and introducing new recycling technologies. Currently, 99 countries participate in marine microplastics monitoring, and 52 are developing innovative recycling technologies.

The new platform, launched in Vienna during the Interregional meeting on the NUTEC plastics marine monitoring network: a common platform for global knowledge consists of a database aimed at enabling simple, harmonized, and interoperable reporting among countries worldwide.

Since 2024, NODC is acting as scientific coordinator of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) Chemistry project and has collaborated with the IAEA to support the creation of this tool, which is designed to collect micro-litter data from NUTEC member states. Specifically, in close cooperation with ICES, it provided several recommendations that the IAEA welcomed and implemented, and acted as an intermediary to integrate new institutions into the European Directory of Marine Organisations (EDMO), a directory of oceanographic and marine research organizations adopted by NUTEC with NODC’s support.