Hydrochemical quality and microplastic levels of the groundwaters of Tuticorin, southeast coast of India

Patterson, Jamila; Laju, R.L.; Jeyasanta, K. Immaculate; Shelciya, S; Esmeralda, V. Glen; Asir, N. Gladwin Gnana; Narmatha, M.; Booth, Andy M.

doi:10.1007/s10040-022-02582-6

Cited by 16 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…From the handful of published studies that have quantified MPs in groundwater in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China, various sources of these emerging contaminants have been identified: wastewater effluent, road runoff, agricultural activities, and landfill leachate (Mu et al 2022;Patterson et al 2023;Sanandra et al 2022;Viaroli et al, 2022). Panno et al (2019) confirmed the occurrence of MP fibers in karst groundwater in the US with maximum concentrations of 15.2 MP particles/L.…”

Section: Microplastics Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 86%

Groundwater in the age of plastic

Nlend,

Lapworth,

Cashman

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Among the emerging contaminants, microplastics (1-5,000 µm) are becoming an important issue due to their ubiquity in the environment. However, research on this emerging contaminant has been conducted mainly in marine surface waters while microplastics (MPs) are now being found in even the most remote parts of the environment. For example, in groundwater which is the primary water source which supply the world, scientists are just starting to gather evidence on risks to groundwater and dependent ecosystems. This paper reviews the current understanding of plastic contamination in groundwater, summarizes methods that can be used for sampling and detection of plastics as well as the status of environmental regulation of plastics. From the handful of published studies, MPs origins in groundwater are mainly from wastewater effluent, road runoff, agricultural activities, and landfill leachate. The relevant nature of these contaminants are related to their high specific surface area and hydrophobicity allowing co-contamination with various hazardous chemicals such as PCBs, PAHs, BPA, PBDEs, heavy metals and antibiotics. Related to this issues of co-contamination in groundwater, there are potential risks to human health and wider ecosystems that are poorly understood and there has been almost no research undertaken on the occurrence of nanoplastics (<1 m) in groundwater systems. MPs can potentially contribute to cardiovascular diseases, skin irritation, cancer, reproductive effects, and respiratory and digestive problems. In addition, soil and groundwater contamination can be detrimental to aquatic micro-organisms. There is an urgent need to develop a better understanding of the risks MP and associated co-contaminants pose and advance national and regional regulations to restrict microplastic contamination of groundwater.

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Section: Microplastics Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 86%

Groundwater in the age of plastic

Nlend,

Lapworth,

Cashman

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…MP particles have been found in every part of the world and in everything from oceans, lakes, and rivers, to the soil, karst, air, glaciers, drinking water, and food products (e.g., Schiperski et al 2016;Wright and Kelly 2017;Chae and An 2018;Koelmans et al 2019;Forrest et al 2020;Huang et al 2021;Oladoja and Unuabonah 2021;Ren et al 2021;Kedzierski et al 2023;Rose et al 2023). They have also been found in groundwater throughout the world (e.g., Panno et al 2019;Bharath et al 2021;Mu et al 2022;Samandra et al 2022;Viaroli et al 2022;Cha et al 2023;Esmeralda et al 2023). The presence of MPs in aquatic and terrestrial environments poses a threat to wildlife that might ingest the particles, leading to oxidative stress, digestive blockages, and neurotoxicity (Browne et al 2007;Forrest et al 2020), but also to plant growth (Eerkes-Medrano et al 2015;Urbina et al 2020), soil structure and porosity (de Souza Machado et al 2018;Zhou et al 2019;Guo et al 2020;Huang et al 2021), and to human health (Browne et al 2007;Eerkes-Medrano et al 2015;Brennecke et al 2016;da Costa et al 2016;Wright and Kelly 2017;Cox et al 2019;Triebskorn et al 2019;Gao et al 2021b;Jenner et al 2022;Tamargo et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Type and Shape of Microplastics on the Transport in Column Experiments

Schenkel,

Brown,

Lenczewski

2023

Groundwater

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The pervasive nature of plastic and the longevity of plastics leaves a legacy of microplastics (MPs) that contaminate our environment, including drinking water sources. Although MPs have been documented in every environmental setting, a paucity of research has focused on the transport and fate of MPs in groundwater. Previous field and laboratory studies have shown that MPs can migrate through aquifer material and are influenced by environmental factors. This study used controlled column experiments to investigate the influence of polymer type (polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester) and particle shape (fragment, fiber, and sphere) on MP retardation and retention. The results showed that all individual MP types investigated were retarded compared to the NaCl tracer, with a retardation factor ranging from 1.53 to 1.75. While hypothesized that presence of multiple types and shapes could change mobility, the results indicate that this hypothesis is not correct for the conditions tested. This study provides new insights into MP transport in groundwater systems based on the characteristics of MP particles. In addition, this study demonstrates the need for further research on types of MPs and under more conditions, especially in the presence of a mixture of types and shapes of MPs to gauge what is occurring in natural systems where many MPs are present together.

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