Microplastics (MPs) contamination has been reported in all environmental compartments, but very limited information is available at higher-altitude lakes. Nainital Lake, located at a high altitude in the Indian Himalayas, has various ecosystem services and is the major source of water for Nainital town, but the MP abundance is still unknown. This study presents the first evidence of the abundance and distribution of MP in Nainital Lake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClimate change and marine litter are inextricably linked, and their interaction manifests differently depending on the specific environmental and biological characteristics, and other human activities taking place. The negative impacts resulting from those synergistic interactions are threatening coastal and marine ecosystems and the many goods and services they provide. This is particularly pervasive in the coastal zone of the Indian subcontinent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn experiment was carried out to investigate the potential of virgin LDPE microplastics to transfer heavy metals. Desired shapes (fibres, fragments, and films) and sizes (< 5 mm) of virgin LDPE microplastics were immersed in a known concentration (30 µg/l) of chromium (IV). These Cr-coated microplastics were introduced into a culture tank containing edible scallops (Amusium pleuronectes).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSynthetic plastics are becoming hazardous wastes, posing a threat to environmental sustainable health; hence, they must be replaced with alternatives. This study aimed to prepare corn starch-based bioplastics using fish scale through film casting technique as an alternative to synthetic plastics. In this work, four types of bioplastic films (CSF, CSFSF1, CSFSF2, FSF) containing different percentages of fish-scale powder and corn starch were prepared.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors of the present research aimed to assess microplastics (MPs) contamination in the gills and gut of selected fishes from various aquatic zones and also to bring out the risks of the identified polymers. Accordingly, about 200 fish specimens of 10 different species were collected from the landing center at Parangipettai, southeast coast of India. The fishes were dissected to investigate MPs contamination in their gills and gut.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastics (MPs) are toxic pollutants, which are found ubiquitously in the marine environment. The present study aimed to assess the level of MP contamination in Vellar estuary, southeast coast of India. MP abundance in surface water and sediments ranged from 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroplastics are the major environmental health hazards spotted in almost all the marine habitats and biota of world. The earlier research on microplastics have mainly focused on studying abundance and distribution as well as impacts on organisms, while the existing review articles have reviewed on any one of the above aspects or the environmental fate of microplastics. The current review focuses on all the above facets thereby bringing out the incompleteness in information globally in the respective facets.
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