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Exploring Microplastic Pollution in Bellandur and Madiwala Lakes of Bangalore: A Preliminary Study
Summary
Researchers conducted a preliminary study of microplastic pollution in two urban lakes in Bangalore, India—Bellandur and Madiwala—collecting water and sediment samples for analysis. Both lakes contained microplastics at measurable concentrations, with fibers and fragments most common, reflecting the heavy human activity and wastewater inputs in the surrounding urban areas.
Microplastics are plastic debris/fragments measuring less than 5 mm, either produced as such or obtained due to the weathering and fragmentation of bigger plastics. They are an emerging pollutant that have already caused great havoc on aquatic organisms and are a major environmental concern. Microplastics are also found in the human body, but the extent of their harmful effects is not yet fully understood. The sources of microplastic entry into humans include food, water, and air. This study assesses the microplastic occurrence in water and bank sediment of Bellandur (L1) and Madiwala (L2) lakes in Bangalore. The lakes are surrounded by urban areas and are affected by sewage inlet, waste dumping, and commercial boating. The microplastics in the bank sediment and water samples were segregated using the Wet Peroxide Oxidation process. There were no visible microplastics obtainable from the water samples of both lakes. However, microplastics were segregated from the bank sediment of both lakes. The scanning electron micrographs of the microplastics segregated from the bank sediment of L1 were found to be like sheaths and in uneven form and shape. The microplastics retrieved from L2 bank sediment were uneven and sheaths of globular masses when observed using SEM. The EDAX analysis majorly showed the presence of carbon and oxygen in both samples. From the FTIR analysis, the microplastics derived from L1 bank sediment had characteristic peaks of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), and Polystyrene (PS). Whereas, the microplastics from L2 had unique peaks corresponding to both Polypropylene (PP), PS and ABS as identified by the absorption peaks pertaining to both –CH3 bending (1366 cm–1) and aromatic C–H (2922 cm–1) stretching vibrations. Similarly, in XRD, the 2θ values around 20° could be seen in both samples. These peaks correspond to some form of crystallinity, but the microplastics may have degraded due to several factors in the environment leading to changes in their structural form. The SEM, EDAX, FTIR and XRD data confirm the presence of microplastics in both the samples. This is the first reported study of microplastics in these lakes of Bangalore and it implies the need to focus on mitigation strategies for retrieval of microplastics that continues to accumulate in these lakes.
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