The increased production and consumption scale of plastic items has led to the generation of microplastics (MPs), an emerging class of contaminants, in our environment. MPs are plastic particles less than 5 mm in size and could originate due to primary and secondary sources. The primary ones are generated as such in the MP size range while the secondary MPs are a result of fragmentation of larger plastic particles which eventually enters the aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric environments. The increasing concern of MP pollution in every compartment of our environment is being globally explored, with relatively fewer studies in India. Among the total studies published on MP prevalence in the Indian environments, marine systems have received significantly higher attention compared to the other compartments like freshwater, atmosphere, terrestrial and human consumables. This review article is an effort to present current understanding of MP pollution in aquatic systems, terrestrial systems, atmosphere and human consumables of India by reviewing available scientific literature. Along with this, the review also focuses on identification of the gap areas in current knowledge and highlights way forward for future research. This would further help in meeting the goals of this emergent pollutant management.

No abstract

No abstract

Yamuna River is a threatened resource of freshwater in Delhi, India. The present study is focused on investigating three important contaminants, namely microplastics (MPs), heavy metals, and fecal coliforms in the surface water of this river with major emphasis on MPs occurrence and characterization. MPs showed an increase in abundance in the river from Wazirabad barrage (n = 500 MPs/m3) to Okhla barrage (n = 3,900 MPs/m3) in Delhi, with a maximum abundance downstream to Najafgarh and Shahdara drain outfalls. White color and fragmented shape were prevalent characteristics of the isolated MPs. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed five types of polymers. Heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Mn, Fe) and fecal coliforms were at unacceptable levels at most of the sampling sites. Due to the emergence of issues concerning MP's tendency to actively interact with heavy metals and pathogenic microorganisms, investigation of the co-occurrence of such harmful pollutants is very important. The present study is aimed at this issue and urges similar kinds of investigations in other riverine regions of our country as well as globally due to their scarcity in literature. This study can further provide a baseline database to help the Government of India's efforts to clean and revive the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna River.

No abstract