Distribution and characterization of microplastics and ecological risks in Vellayani Lake, Kerala, India

Abstract

The impact of microplastics has been a significant concern for human health and aquatic organisms. Last few decades, the understanding the microplastic occurrences in freshwater environments is very limited compared with marine environments. The present study aims to investigate the microplastic contamination in water and surface sediments of Vellayani Lake, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to assess the potential ecological risk status of the largest freshwater lake environment. The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) protocol was applied for this systematic assessment of plastic fibers. Totally, 95 microplastics were founded in both surface sediment and water samples. The mean value of microplastic in sediments and water ranging from 5.4 particles/ kg and 4.1 particles/l, respectively. The morphology of microplastics suggests that the founded microplastic were dominated by fibrous and amorphous particles. The microplastics were derived into Vellayani Lake by the consequence of tourism and anthropogenic activities.