Characterization and Quantification of Microplastics Pollutants in Sediment Samples from Daya River of Odisha State in India for their Appropriate Management

Microplastics have become a serious threat to the environment, and their adverse effect directly impacts animals and human beings, which has received much global attention. In this work, sediment samples were collected from 21 different collection sites of Daya River on the basis of seasonal variations from the month of September 2022 to March 2023. After collection, the samples were processed through sieving, and visual sorting and underwent the density separation method to analyze the shape, size, and color. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to identify the presence of the type of polymer. Approximately 550 microplastics were recovered from the 21 sample sites, with fibers as the dominant microplastic type. During winter and summer, the number of microplastics is more than 80 per 300 g whereas in the rainy season, there is a decrease in the number of microplastics i.e., approximately 30. The highest concentration of microplastics was found to be blue and white due to the over-dumping of plastic bottles by the people and blue-colored plastics because of the fishing activities by local people. Overall, this study highlighted the presence of microplastics in Daya River sediments and provided a baseline for future studies on microplastic pollution and its prevention. This work demonstrates the identification and quantification of microplastics in sediment samples from the Daya River located in Odisha, India.