Though the main aim of the study was to ascertain microplastics in groundwater, their presence was also found in the Yamuna’s water and soil samples from its banks. This suggests that the groundwater has been polluted with microplastics due to leaching effect from the river.
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A first-of-its-kind study commissioned by the Delhi government has detected microplastics in groundwater samples across the Capital, multiple sources have confirmed to The Hindu.
An interim report of the study was submitted last November to the Delhi government, which has not yet made it public.
Across Delhi, people rely on borewells to extract groundwater and use it for drinking and other purposes. The Delhi government also extracts groundwater, treats it, and supplies it to meet part of the city’s drinking water needs.
Though the main aim of the study was to ascertain microplastics in groundwater, their presence was also found in the Yamuna’s water and soil samples from its banks. This suggests that the groundwater has been polluted with microplastics due to leaching effect from the river.
“Microplastics were found in groundwater samples of almost all 11 districts of Delhi. The government has not objected to the findings of the study and its next phase is under way. The final report will be submitted later this year,” a source privy to the development told The Hindu.
Microplastics are small particles or fragments of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Some microplastics are intentionally manufactured for industrial and domestic purposes (primary microplastics), including ‘microbeads’ used in cosmetic and personal healthcare products. Secondary microplastics are created by the weathering of larger plastic objects.
A 2021 UNEP report, ‘From Pollution to Solution’, had warned that chemicals in microplastics “are associated with serious health impacts, especially in women”, such as changes to human genetics, brain development, and respiration rates.
‘Serious effects’
Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Link, a Delhi-based environmental research and advocacy organisation, said a study it conducted in 2017 found microplastics in Delhi’s tap water. “The current water treatment systems cannot filter out microplastics and they have serious effects on health. Microplastics can also adsorb other chemicals and become more toxic. Now, there is no standard or safe limit for microplastics,” he said.
Mr. Sinha said if there is a report on microplastics being found in groundwater, then the Delhi government should release it in the public domain as it will help other research groups in finding a solution.
In addition to entering the food chain through seafood, people can inhale microplastics from the air, ingest them from water, and absorb them through the skin. Microplastics have been found in various human organs, and even in the placenta of newborns, according to the UNEP.
The Delhi government had awarded the study to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), a city-based not-for-profit research and advocacy organisation, in February 2024. The current results are related to samples collected from the pre-monsoon period last year. Now, post-monsoon data will be analysed, according to the agreement with TERI.
Published – February 01, 2025 01:50 am IST