Quantitative assessment of microplastic in sandy beaches of Gujarat state, India.

The present study was carried out to quantify microplastic prevalence among 20 sandy beaches on the Gujarat coast. Beaches were categorised into three different classes, viz. low-impacted sites, moderately impacted sites, and highly impacted sites based on anthropogenic pressure. Microplastic (MP) (≤ 5 mm) contamination on the beaches varied with an average of 1.4 MPs/kg to 26 MPs/kg sediment. Sutrapada site-1 and Porbandar showed the highest and lowest mean abundance of microplastics, respectively, among 20 selected beaches. Out of the total assessed microplastics, threads were the maximum (89.98%), followed by the films (4.75%), fragments (3.36%) and foam (1.89%). In terms of colour and size, different microplastics were recorded in this study. The chemical composition of microplastics was identified by ATR-FTIR as polypropylene (47.5%), polyethylene (26%), and polystyrene (25%). Tourism and fishing activities are the possible sources of higher microplastic contamination at highly impacted sites.

Rabari V ，Patel K ，Patel H ，Trivedi J ... -  《-》

An assessment of microplastic contamination in beach sediment of Maharashtra State, India, with special reference to anthropogenic activities.

The escalating issue of microplastic (MP) pollution poses a significant threat to the marine environment due to increasing plastic production and improper waste management. The current investigation was aimed at quantifying the MP concentration on 25 beaches on the Maharashtra coast, India. Beach sediments (1 kg) were collected from each site, with five replicates to evaluate the extent of MPs. The samples were homogenized, and three 20 g replicas were prepared for subsequent analysis. Later, the samples were sieved, and MPs were extracted using previously published protocols. The abundance of MPs found as 1.56 ± 0.79 MPs/g, ranges from 0.43 ± 0.07 to 3 ± 0.37 MPs/g. Fibers were found as the most abundant shape of MPs. Size-wise classification revealed dominance of <1 mm and 1-2 mm-sized MPs. Blue- and black-colored MPs were recorded dominantly. Polymer identification of MPs revealed polyurethane, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, acrylic or polymethyl methacrylate, and rubber. The findings revealed that MPs were found to be higher at highly impacted sites, followed by moderately impacted sites and low-impacted sites, possibly due to a different degree of anthropogenic pressure. The study recommended the urgent need for effective policy to prevent plastics accumulation in the coastal environment of Maharashtra State, India. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The study investigated the abundance and distribution of microplastics in the marine environment, specifically in sediments. The most common type of microplastic found was fibers, followed by fragments and films. Microplastics were found to pose a potential risk to the marine ecosystem, although further research is needed to fully understand their ecological impact. Future research should focus on expanding the sample size, assessing long-term effects, exploring sources and pathways, and considering size and shape of microplastics. The findings recommended urgent action to mitigate plastic pollution in Maharashtra coast.

Shinde R ，Rabari V ，Duggal R ，Patel A ，Alharbi SA ，Ansari MJ ，Trivedi J ... -  《-》

Microplastics on sandy beaches of the southern Baltic Sea.

Microplastic occurrence and composition were investigated along the Polish coast (southern Baltic Sea) on 12 beaches differing in terms of intensity of their touristic exploitation, urbanisation and sediment characteristics. Their mean concentrations varied between 76 and 295 items per kg dry sediment. Fibres and plastic fragments were the dominant microplastic types. Overall, no relationship was found between their concentrations and sediment characteristics. Fine sediments were not identified as microplastic pollution traps. The highest microplastic concentrations were recorded at some urban beaches indicating that population density and the level of coastal infrastructure development are important factors affecting microplastic pollution level on beaches. On the other hand, microplastic concentrations in national parks did not differ substantially from the other beaches. Our results suggest that sediment accumulation processes may exceed microplastic accumulation, and overcome the effect of tourism and/or urbanisation, highlighting the role of the beach hydrodynamic status in structuring beach microplastic pollution.

Urban-Malinga B ，Zalewski M ，Jakubowska A ，Wodzinowski T ，Malinga M ，Pałys B ，Dąbrowska A ... -  《-》

Microplastic prevalence in the beaches of Puducherry, India and its correlation with fishing and tourism/recreational activities.

The prevalence of microplastics in the sediments of six beaches of the Puducherry coast in India was studied and its correlation to fishing activities and recreational activities was analysed. On an average, 72.03 ± 19.16 microplastic particles/100 g dry weight of sediments is found to be the microplastic abundance in the study. A Strong positive correlation (Pearson's R = 0.92, p = 0.0103) between fishing activity and microplastic abundance and a weak correlation (Pearson's R = 0.04, p = 0.932) between microplastic abundance and recreational activities is found. Majority (65.12%) of the microplastics belongs to the size bracket of 300 μm-1 mm and only 34.88% were large microplastics (>1 mm). The Polymers of the microplastics were identified as Polypropylene, HDPE, LDPE, Polystyrene, Polyurethane etc. using Raman spectroscopy. Microplastic fragments comprise 56.32% of the total particles. In terms of colour of the microplastics, white (26.92%) is the most abundant.

Dowarah K ，Devipriya SP 《-》

Abundance, characteristics and surface degradation features of microplastics in beach sediments of five coastal areas in Tamil Nadu, India.

This study undertook to investigate the occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in the high and low-tide sediments of five coastal areas in Tamil Nadu, India. The abundance of microplastics vary from 439 ± 172 to 119 ± 72 (HTL) and 179 ± 68 to 33 ± 30 (LTL) items kg-1 of sediments. The MP polymers found in the study sites are Polyethylene (73.2%), polypropylene (13.8%), nylon (8.2%), polystyrene (2.8%) and polyester (2%). The weathered surfaces might act as high-capacity carriers and this was confirmed by SEM-EDAX. The results of an analysis of the textures of the sediments do not ascribe any influence on microplastic abundance. The recreation, religious and fishing activities are the major contributors to plastic pollution in these beaches, which is borne out by the high abundance of MPs in the study sites. A regular and permanent waste management system should be put in place for the protection of beaches.

Sathish N ，Jeyasanta KI ，Patterson J 《-》