The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has launched a mission to research the presence and impact of microplastics in Antarctica. Microplastics are defined as plastic particles with a diameter of less than 5 mm. These were first detected in Antarctica in 2009, in sea ice samples collected in East Antarctica by University of Tasmania (Australia) researchers. The IAEA mission, which involves two researchers, is part of the agency’s NUTEC Plastics initiative (in full: Nuclear TEChnology for controlling Plastic pollution). This is an outgrowth of the IAEA’s projects to use radiation technology to recycle plastics and to use isotopic tracing techniques for marine monitoring.