HYDERABAD: The legacy dump in Jawaharnagar, which has been plaguing thousands of families in the vicinity for decades, is turning out to be a bigger problem than Haider as new research reveals the huge presence of microplastics in leachate from the yard.
Microplastics are extremely small, 5 mm and below, degraded plastic particles that can enter the food chain, subsoil, groundwater and cause health hazards.
The study, conducted by researchers at NIT Andhra Pradesh, found evidence of 15 ‘objects’ of microplastics on an average per liter of water from liquid samples collected around the dump.
The paper was published by the researchers in the journal ‘Science Direct’ Vijaykumar Sekar And Baranidharan Sundaramwho collected samples from leachate pools at four locations adjacent to the dump yard.
At one location, 21 items of microplastic per liter were found.
They said most of the microplastics found were fibers (83%) and fragments (11%), indicating that these could have come from plastic ropes, clothing, nets, etc., or from plastic waste dumped at the site. There was debris. The nature of these microplastics were polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) etc.
The paper further states that these plastics can have a potential impact on the environment around the dump yard. While these can seep into groundwater and contaminate it before it reaches the water table, their presence in subsoil can change the density, organic composition and even poison it with harmful toxins that they release on its surface. Let’s take away.
Speaking about the findings, Assistant Professor Sundaram said, “This is a matter of concern because unlike plastic waste, microplastics cannot be seen with the naked eye and are often overlooked as a problem.”
,malkaram cheruvu The water adjacent to the Jawaharnagar dump yard has been contaminated with leachate. it is forward linked Dammaiguda Cheruvu and Cheerala Cheruvu. So, they too could potentially be infested with microplastics. Leachate has been entering surrounding lakes through both surface runoff and groundwater over the years. A larger study needs to be done to see where all such microplastics can be found as these lakes eventually empty into Musi,” Donthi said. Narasimha Reddyclimate change expert told TOI.
Reddy said that it is a matter of concern that plastic is getting weathered in such a short span of time. “Weathering of plastics is usually caused by sunlight, heat and wind, but it occurs over many years. We know from previous studies that most plastics ended up in landfills and clothing dumps in the past decade, due to the boom in plastics consumption. .. Clearly, some other chemical composition at the legacy dump is accelerating the weathering of plastics into microplastics,” he said.
Microplastics are extremely small, 5 mm and below, degraded plastic particles that can enter the food chain, subsoil, groundwater and cause health hazards.
The study, conducted by researchers at NIT Andhra Pradesh, found evidence of 15 ‘objects’ of microplastics on an average per liter of water from liquid samples collected around the dump.
The paper was published by the researchers in the journal ‘Science Direct’ Vijaykumar Sekar And Baranidharan Sundaramwho collected samples from leachate pools at four locations adjacent to the dump yard.
At one location, 21 items of microplastic per liter were found.
They said most of the microplastics found were fibers (83%) and fragments (11%), indicating that these could have come from plastic ropes, clothing, nets, etc., or from plastic waste dumped at the site. There was debris. The nature of these microplastics were polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) etc.
The paper further states that these plastics can have a potential impact on the environment around the dump yard. While these can seep into groundwater and contaminate it before it reaches the water table, their presence in subsoil can change the density, organic composition and even poison it with harmful toxins that they release on its surface. Let’s take away.
Speaking about the findings, Assistant Professor Sundaram said, “This is a matter of concern because unlike plastic waste, microplastics cannot be seen with the naked eye and are often overlooked as a problem.”
,malkaram cheruvu The water adjacent to the Jawaharnagar dump yard has been contaminated with leachate. it is forward linked Dammaiguda Cheruvu and Cheerala Cheruvu. So, they too could potentially be infested with microplastics. Leachate has been entering surrounding lakes through both surface runoff and groundwater over the years. A larger study needs to be done to see where all such microplastics can be found as these lakes eventually empty into Musi,” Donthi said. Narasimha Reddyclimate change expert told TOI.
Reddy said that it is a matter of concern that plastic is getting weathered in such a short span of time. “Weathering of plastics is usually caused by sunlight, heat and wind, but it occurs over many years. We know from previous studies that most plastics ended up in landfills and clothing dumps in the past decade, due to the boom in plastics consumption. .. Clearly, some other chemical composition at the legacy dump is accelerating the weathering of plastics into microplastics,” he said.