Distribution and Characterization of Microplastics from the Beaches of Mumbai,India.
Keywords:
Microplastics, Characterization, Coastal, Pollution.Abstract
This study elaborates the abundance and characterization (shape, size and type) of microplastics in the beach sediments of Mumbai. The most populated and polluted beaches with human encroachment in Mumbai were selected viz as Versova, Juhu and Dadar. Morphological and physical characterization of microplastics (shape, size, and colour) were recorded. The chemical composition of microplastics was identified by the FT-IR [Fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy] method. Microplastics vary in weight and the number. Total of 506 microplastic particles were found from 18 beach sediment samples. The average weight and number from all the locations is 0.704 mg. g-1 of sediment (253.145 mg.m-2) and the is 61.561microplastics.kg-1 of sediment (22.488 MPs. m-2). From the total samples collected, fragments (54%) were the most abundant microplastic, the second highest was foam (polystyrene spheres) (21%), followed by film (10%), pellet (9%) and then fibre (6%). The synthetic origin of the collected microplastics was confirmed through FT-IR analysis, which identified two main polymer types: Polypropylene (PP) and Polyurethane (PU). All three sampled beaches in Mumbai were found to be polluted with microplastics. The extent of contamination varied among the beaches and individual samples. Dadar Beach had the highest overall number of microplastics.
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