A review on microplastic pollution research in India

Microplastic particles (MPs) are emerging global pollutants, especially in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Currently, very little information is available on regulations controlling plastic usage, recycling and environmental pollution in various countries. The current review is focused on scientific articles published on MPs collected, separated, and identified by research laboratories located in different geographical regions of India. Only those papers dealing with samples collected from India are included in this review, and general reviews published by Indian authors on global microplastic pollution issues are not covered. The environmental samples investigated include sea, river, groundwater, commercial salt, sediments, beach sands, and fresh or processed seafood such as fish, oysters, and prawns collected and examined from the Indian environment. The chemical identities of the most common plastic particles found in the environmental samples were polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), nylon, and polystyrene (PS). Some reported MPs also contained heavy metal ions or other chemical pollutants adsorbed from the environment, especially those MPs collected from the groundwater samples. The review identified existing research gaps and suggested a road map for the research involving sampling, separation, and identification protocols for MPs.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.