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Water quality assessment of different sources of water in a village was carried out by taking selected significant parameters, namely temperature, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), free carbon dioxide (free CO 2 ), alkalinity, hardness, calcium, phosphate, nitrate, chloride and coliform count. All these parameters were analyzed as per the standard protocol of American Public Health Association. Further, seven parameters (pH, TDS, alkalinity, hardness, calcium, nitrates and chloride) were used to calculate water quality index for assessing overall drinking water status of sampling sites. A survey of health status of population of the village was also conducted with the help of questionnaire and interview method to draw the relationship of water quality and health. All selected physicochemical parameters were found under prescribed limits as stated by Indian Standard 10500 and Central Pollution Control Board guidelines. The values for most probable number count were found above the permissible limit of drinking water indicating contamination of coliform at all sites. Further, water quality index for SN1, SN2, SN3, SN4 and SN5 was 17.61, 30.11, 69.73, 25.60 and 47.15, respectively. As per the water quality index, the water samples of natural springs which were away from village were classified under 'excellent' category as compared to supply water samples. The result of survey recorded 38% population suffered from dysentery, 23% from diarrhea and 17% from typhoid. The report of the survey and the presence of coliform suggest that drinking water contamination is leading to waterborne diseases like cholera, dysentery and typhoid. It is also suggested that water quality of all sites except SN3 was suitable for drinking purpose, but disinfection of coliform before use is warranted.

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Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in our environment. Its presence in air, water and soil makes it a serious threat to living organisms. The present study aimed to assess the availability of MPs in air and street dust of a metropolitan city Varanasi, India. Suspended dust samples and street dust samples were collected from various sampling sites. The assessment of MPs was conducted by for physical identification binocular microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), while elemental analysis done by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX). and finally, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used for functional group analysis. the presence of MPs in both suspended dust and street dust samples of all selected sampling sites was confirmed by results. MPs of different color with the shape of Fragments, Films, Spherules and Fibers were observed in the study. However, most of the MPs were less than 1mm in size. The MPs identified in our study were majorly polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyester, and polyvinyl chloride. EDX analysis showed presence of trace elements like aluminum, cadmium, magnesium, sodium, and silicon apart from carbon and oxygen, which indicates the presence of additives or adsorption capacity of MPs. Confirmation of MPs in the air of a locality of Varanasi explains the need of deep research in this concerned field to protect our future from negative impacts of breathing MPs.