Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems of India: Current Trends and Future Perspectives.

Microplastics (MPs)-i.e., plastic particles less than 5 mm in length-are becoming a growing environmental concern due to their potential ecotoxicological impacts on aquatic ecosystems.

Distribution and characterization of plastic debris pollution along the Poompuhar Beach, Tamil Nadu, Southern India.

The present study was carried out to determine the characteristics, distribution, and abundance of plastic debris in 25 sediment samples collected from the Poompuhar beach, southeast coast of India. The result reveals that the mean plastic debris abundance was 42 ± 27 particles/m dry weight (dw) (1 SD, n = 25) with higher concentrations in the river mouth. The dominant shapes in the study area were fragment (70.

Microplastics in the high-altitude Himalayas: Assessment of microplastic contamination in freshwater lake sediments, Northwest Himalaya (India).

In this study, we assess the magnitude, type, and sources of microplastic (MP) in lake bottom sediments collected from freshwater Anchar Lake, located in the Kashmir Valley, Northwest Himalaya. The MP identification was done on twenty-four lake bottom sediment samples under a stereo-microscope, and their polymer compositions were characterized using an Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The study reveals that 606 ± 360 (average ± SD, n = 24) numbers of MP were present per kilogram of dry sediment samples, with fibers (91%), fragments/films (8%), and pellets (1%) dominating the shape groups.

Baseline distributions and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in reef-associated sediments of Vembar group of Islands, Gulf of Mannar, India.

The study aims to investigate the source and concentration of PAH fractions in the reef sediments of the Vembar group of Islands, Gulf of Mannar, India. The concentration of PAHs ranged from 0.36 to 15.

Microplastic contamination in edible sea salt from the largest salt-producing states of India.

The presence of microplastics in all ecological and environmental conditions has been identified as a global problem. This article aimed to study edible salt-associated microplastics from the major salt-producing states of India. The crystal and powder salt from Tamil Nadu and Gujarat (five samples of powder salt and three samples of crystal salt from each state) were collected and analyzed for their microplastic content.