Abstract
In this study, the abundance of microplastics (MPs) in the Uppanar and Gadilam estuaries in Cuddalore, on the southeast coast of India, is reported. In the estuarine sediments, MP abundance ranged from 36.3 ± 3.39 to 51.6 ± 2.05 particles/Kg dw. Different types of MP shapes, such as fibers (41.7–47.9%), films (21.2–27.2%), and fragments (18.3–25.5%) were observed in the size range of 100–1000 µm. Diverse colours of MPs were observed, among which red (30.1–34.5%) was predominantly noticed in the estuarine sediments. Six polymers were identified by µ-FTIR, among which LDPE (39%) and PP (35%) were dominant. MPs pollution in these estuaries is composed of domestic, industrial, and fishing wastes. Risk assessments show that the area falls under hazard categories I to III, indicating low to high risk. This study improves knowledge on MPs contamination in Uppanar and Gadilam estuaries and provides impetus for further research to identify the actual sources and impacts of MPs on aquatic systems along the east coast of India.
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Data availability
The current work was funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. Therefore, the financial institution holds the rights. Data can be available from the authors on a reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a research grant from the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), National Centre for Coastal Research, Government of India (Project File No. MoES/ICMAM-PD/ME/CAS-MB/53/2017). The samples were analysed using the µFTIR facility available at the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. We wish to acknowledge The Director, CSIR-NIO, Goa, for his support during the study. This represents NIO contribution number 7085. The authors would like to acknowledge the authorities of Annamalai University for providing the necessary facilities.
Funding
This study was supported by a research project “Seawater Quality Monitoring (SWQM)” 317 from Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India (Project File No.MoES / ICMAM-PD/ME/CAS318 MB/53/2017).
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A. Nithin: Research hypothesis, Methodology, Investigation, and Writing—original draft, Visualization, Validation. A. Sundaramanickam: Conceptualization, Supervision,Data curation, Data validation, Writing—review & editing. Mahua Saha: sample analysis, datavalidation &editing. Mehdi Hassanshahian: review & editing.Muthusamy Thangaraj: Datavalidation, review & editing. Chayanika Rathore: Sample Analysis.
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Nithin, A., Sundaramanickam, A., Saha, M. et al. Risk assessments of microplastics accumulated in estuarine sediments at Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, southeast coast of India. Environ Monit Assess 195, 890 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11434-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11434-z