Various studies confirm presence of microplastics in human body: Centre to Parliament

The Centre on Tuesday informed the Parliament that various studies confirm the presence of microplastics in human body.

Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav said that a separate committee comprising of officials from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), ICMR, Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET), National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) had submitted a report to the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The report states that there is presence of microplastics in the human body.

The findings of the report stated that the physiological or psychological impact of microplastics on human health has not been reported in these studies.

He also informed that Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (ICMR-NIREH) undertook a review to ascertain the presence of micro and nano plastics on human health.

The report stated that the micro/nanoplastics act as source and sink for many other contaminants as well. “Micro/nanoplastics themselves act as source of various chemicals, additives, and pigments which are added during the manufacturing process of plastics.  As microplastics get weathered with time due to the effect of various environmental factors, their ability to transport contaminants also gets affected, which further enhances threat for the drinking water sources,” the report said.

In its report, CPCB confirmed that microplastics — both primary and secondary — pollute drinking water sources primarily through discharge of sewage/waste water treatment plant effluent and surface runoff. “As sewage/waste water treatment plants are not equipped for the complete removal of microplastics, effluents released from these plants contains substantial quantity of microplastics. Upon mixing of this effluent with fresh water sources, microplastics become part of the fresh/drinking water supply chain,” it said in the report submitted to the NGT.

Jadhav said that the government is taking steps to combat the usage of plastics by offering alternatives.

“The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has informed that it has undertaken an initiative on ‘Biotechnological Interventions for Management and Mitigation of Microplastic Pollution’ and supported 14 research and development projects in this area. These projects are focused on microbial biodegradation of microplastics, development of bio-based and biodegradable plastics, nanotechnology for biodegradation and sustainable packaging and detection, monitoring and upcycling of micro/mixed plastics. These projects have been implemented at academic institutes across the nation,” he said.