Need to study plastic pollution in rivers: Researcher

Panaji: Plastic pollution is an emerging environmental threat and a comprehensive study needs to be conducted on its accumulation in Indian rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters, a senior researcher here said.

Senior scientist Mahua Saha of Goa-based CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography made the observation in a paper presented during the ‘National Workshop on Microplastics Pollution’ at New Delhi.

“We have found that the deposition of sea-based microplastics is high during northeast monsoons along the east coast of India, while the same are abundant during southwest monsoons along the western coast,” Saha said.

However, the plastic pollution aspect is not considered while studying the environmental carrying capacity of industrial areas, special economic zones (SEZs) nor while declaring critically polluted areas (CPAs).

“As a new and emerging environmental threat, a comprehensive baseline is desperately required to at least understand the status of plastic pollution in the country,” she added.