Baseline Study on Microplastics in Indian Rivers under Different Anthropogenic Influences

Water, vol. 13, pp. 1648

Abstract

Microplastic particles are found in environmental compartments all over the world and receive a great deal of attention, especially in the aquatic environment. Currently, a particularly high input of microplastics via Asian rivers is assumed, but so far, there are hardly any data through field measurements. Three rivers in South India were considered for this purpose to focus on their microplastic load. The emphasis was on the comparison of microplastic concentrations in urban and rural rivers. While two rivers in the megacity Chennai (Tamil Nadu) were found to have an average microplastic concentration of 0.4 microplastic particles/L, a rural river near Munnar (Kerala) had an average concentration of 0.2 microplastic particles/L. Rough estimates of annual microplastic discharge from the Adyar River (Chennai) into the Bay of Bengal are found to be as high as 11.6 trillion microplastic particles. This study should be one of the first baseline studies for microplastic loads in South Indian streams and should be complemented with further environmental sampling before, during and after the monsoon season to get more detailed information on the storage and transportation of fluvial microplastics under different weather conditions.

Authors 7

1. Simone Lechthaler corresponding Aachen Chair of Physical Geography and Geoecology Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Physical Geography and Geoecology, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Kryss Waldschläger Aachen Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management

   RWTH Aachen University · Wageningen University & Research

   Affiliation as printed

   Hydrology and Quantitative Water Management Group, Wageningen University, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands

   Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

3. Chavapati Gouse Sandhani

   Indian Institute of Technology Madras

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600036, India

4. Sannasi Annamalaisamy Sannasiraj

   Indian Institute of Technology Madras

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600036, India

5. V. Sundar

   Indian Institute of Technology Madras

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600036, India

6. Jan Schwarzbauer Aachen Laboratory for Organic-Geochemical Analysis Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Laboratory for Organic-Geochemical Analysis, Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany

7. Holger Schüttrumpf Aachen Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resource Management, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany