A Baseline Study On The Occurrence And Distribution of Microplastics In The Highly Polluted Metropolitan River Cooum, Chennai, India.

Abstract

The current research aimed to determine the distribution of micro plastics in surface sediments and water from Chennai's Cooum River. The fiber dominates the Cooum River's surface sediments and water, followed by beads and fragments. Both the sediment and the water contain a high concentration of <1mm size micro plastics. The distribution counts of micro plastics in the Cooum River are significantly low compare to those found in the St. River Lawrence and Amazon river brazil. The distribution of micro plastics in riverine environments is strongly influenced by waste water discharge from domestic and industrial sources, as well as waste dumping near riverbanks.