Micro-plastics: An invisible danger to human health

Abstract

Microplastics are small plastic pieces ranging between the size of 1-5 micrometre (µm). Because of their small size and their continuity, it has the potential to spread throughout all parts of our environment. These are ubiquitous environmental contaminants leading to inevitable human exposure. It can enter our bodies through ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact. It has already been found in various human foods, beers, drinking water, honey, seafood, sugar, table salt etc. It is demonstrated that marine organisms including zooplanktons, bivalves, crustaceans, worms, fish, reptiles etc. ingest microplastic. Around 2% to 40% of fishes were found to be contaminated with microplastic. It can reach our stomach and due to its size , these are either excreted, get entrapped in intestinal lining and stomach or move freely in body fluids like blood, thereby reaching various organs and tissues of body. To tackle this serious issue of microplastic pollution in environment and in human health, various effective policies must take under consideration all stages of lifecycle of plastic connecting producers to users and ultimately to waste managers. Thus, we have to seem for potential effects of microplastics in living beings, which specializes in the pathways of toxicity and exposure, way to reduce microplastic pollution, sources of invisible plastics. Present work was conducted to explore the possible threats of micro as well as nanoplastic particles to humanity as well as to our ecosystem. Under this study we summarized various aspects of this critical issue, which provide better scientific knowledge for future research.

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CGC International Journal of Contemporary Technology and Research
ISSN: 2582-0486 (online) Vol.-3, Issue-2 DOI: 10.46860/cgcijctr.2021.06.31.191
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Microorganisms as vital additives in Waste
Management
Dr. Renuka1*, Khushboo Gupta2,
1Department of RISE, 2Chandigarh College of Technology
Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Landran, Mohali
Email ID: renuka.rise@cgc.edu.in
Abstract: Microorganisms play necessary roles within the maintenance of the many natural and synthetic development within
the environment. They serve positive functions that build life easier and higher for man. one in every of such areas that
microorganism’s area unit adopted is in waste management. the right disposal of the voluminous waste that humans generate
in their daily activities may be a nice challenge that government and environmental agencies area unit unceasingly seeking
higher ways that of addressing. a crucial method of with success combating this menace is thru the utilization of
microorganisms. Thus, this paper examines the varied applications of microorganisms within the management of municipal
waste. It reviews the varied roles of microorganisms within the atmosphere, like in waste product and soil treatment, energy
generation, oil spillage and hot contamination. It conjointly discusses waste generation and management ways, and a few
specific uses of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, algae, virus and protozoa) in waste management. It concludes by light some
recent advances in microbiological waste management.
Indexed Terms- Micro-Organisms, Waste Management, Composting, Waste Water, Anaerobic Digestion, Municipal Solid
Waste, Environmental Pollution.
I. INTRODUCTION
Micro-Organisms are present everywhere in the
environment where they play an important role. So many
Microbes have unique adaptation to some specific
environmental conditions like one who inhabited dead sea
and pink snow caused by Chlamydomonas nivalis..
Microbes play a great role in Natural Recycling of living
Materials. Bio-degradable substances are those which are
naturally produced and can be easily broken down by living
organisms like Bacteria and Fungi. Micro-organisms have
been very indispensable in searching for solutions for
various problems which mankind has encountered in
maintaining the quality and for stabilizing proper ecosystem.
Even they have been used to maintain a proper and positive
effect in human and animal health, municipal and industrial
waste treatment, genetic engineering, etc. In India with a
population of 130 Crores, Waste generation and Disposal is
the most difficult challenge faced. The main sources of
waste are industrial, agricultural and domestic waste’s and
is grouped into all three forms of Matter (Solid, Liquid and
Gas). The Waste which creates most of the problem is Solid
and Liquid Waste’s. Out of all waste, Plastic is the most
dangerous waste as it is Non- Biodegradable.
II. ROLE OF MICRO-ORGANISMS IN THE
ENVIRONMENT:
It requires a lot of chemical synthesis to convert Natural
Resources into other useful form. It even leads to pollution
while producing any Product. All the process of converting
these Natural Resources involve use of Micro-Organisms
(Bacteria, Fungi, etc.). Micro-Organisms are very important
for the environment as well as Human. They play a very
important role in all the aspects like carbon and nitrogen
cycle, even in recycling the natural resources. Also, Micro-
Organisms are vital as they perform some very important
roles such as recycling other organisms’ dead materials and
waste products through decomposition. Micro-Organisms
give a main of its quality in higher- order, multi-cellular
organisms.
III. APPLICATION OF MICRO-ORGANISMS:
i. Sewage Treatment: Most of all oxidative sewage
treatment processes merely depends upon a large range
of Micro-Organisms to get oxidized in small organic
constituents which are not manageable for the process of
sedimentation or flotation. Anaerobic Micro-Organisms
are there for reducing big solid Globules, producing
methane gas (amongst other gases) and a sterile
mineralized residue.
ii. Soil treatment: The atmospheric nitrogen fixation leads
to nitrogen cycle or nitrogen fixation. Diazotrophs can
be used for this. Nutrients and minerals are generally
produced my microorganisms in the soil which is
readily available for plants which helps in formation of
hormones with triggering growth. Diversification of
microbes results in more yielding varieties and less
plant diseases.
iii. Energy Generation: In Fermentation, Micro-organisms
help to produce ethanol. In Bio-gas Reactors Micro-
Organisms helps in producing Methane. Many Scientists
are still researching over it and recently on the use of
Algae to produce fuel and searching on key factors
leading to bacteria for fuel generation by agricultural
and urban waste.
iv. Oil Spillage and Radioactive Contamination: There are
various type of Bacteria’s in this environment that could
clean various pollutants like Spilled Petroleum. When
there is an oil Spill ,Alcanivorax ,a specific strain that
increases population.
v. A specific Strain called ALCANIVORAX increases
population due to the large amounts of Nutrients which
are provided them. Some bacteria helps in growth of
nanowires and can be used in immobilization of harmful
elements

CGC International Journal of Contemporary Technology and Research
ISSN: 2582-0486 (online) Vol.-3, Issue-2 DOI: 10.46860/cgcijctr.2021.06.31.191
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Fig. 1: Site view
The nano wires grown by some types of bacteria can also
be used to immobilize harmful elements – like uranium –
and keep them away from spreading. Recently in Michigan
State University ,researchers stated that geobacter bacteria
found naturally in soil which electroplates uranium which is
insoluble and undissolved and contaminate groundwater..
IV. WASTE MANAGEMENT IN OTHER
COUNTRIES
Solid wastes may be outlined as non-liquid and
nongaseous product of human activities, thought to be
being useless. It might take the sorts of refuse, garbage and
sludge. the amount and rate of solid waste generation in an
area depends on the densely populated area, socio-
economic standing of the voters and also other sorts of
industrial activities occurring within the space. Wastage
leads to polluted environment with odour nuisance.It
become breeding place for number of flies and insects.
They'll conjointly cause hearth hazards excluding
being eyesores and sources of unpleasant odours,
terribly soft, refuse is drop in drainages or
canals and on watercourses with freedom. The
unsanitary mode of wastes disposal, like open
elimination, excretion in open and also the selling of
refuse in pits, rivers and evacuation channels area unit
widespread and also the resultant contamination of the
setting contributes to environmental degradation.
V. WASTE MANAGEMENT METHODS
Waste management is that the assortment, transport,
process or disposal, managing and observance of waste
materials to minimize its consequences on humans and
atmosphere. Solid waste treatment techniques act to scale
back the volume and toxicity of solid waste, reworking it
into a lot of convenient and/or useful type. In Awosusi,
waste management is viewed as a method of supply
reduction, refuse utilisation, controlled combustion and
controlled landfill; energy generation from waste (energy
recovery) and finally, solid waste disposal, if the
aforementioned don't provide applicable resolution. variety
of processes square measure concerned in effectively
managing solid waste. These embody observance,
collection, transport, processing, recycling, burning,
landfilling and composting. This embodies differing types of
ways like follows thermal treatment (whereby the method
use heat to treat waste materials) like burning, chemical
action and transmutation, and open burning; dumps and
landfills like sanitary landfills, controlled dumps and
bioreactor landfills; biological waste treatment like
composting and anaerobic digestion.
Fig. 2: Graphical representation of solid waste
VI. USE OF MICRO-ORGANISMS IN WASTE
MANAGEMENT
The Micro-Organisms that inhabit the aerobic
biological treatment systems embody bacterium, and
other microbes. The expansion of any type of Micro-
Organisms during an industrial wastage disposal system can
rely on the chemical characteristics of the economic waste,
the environmental limitations of the actual waste system and
therefore the organic chemistry characteristics of the Micro-
Organisms. All of the Micro- Organisms which grow during
a given industrial waste disposal system contribute to its
over-all characteristics, each smart and unhealthy.
It is important to acknowledge the role created by every
form of organism to total stability of the organic wastes if
the waste treatment system is to be properly framed and
executed for max potency.
A. BACTERIA:
Bacteria is the basic biological unit in waste water
treatment. Due to variation in chemistry and nature of this
,it can metabolize most . Obligate aerobes. and facultative
microorganism can found altogether aerobic waste
treatment systems. Growth of any explicit species depends
upon its competitive ability to get a share of the on the
market organic material within the system. Bacterial
predomination can usually divide itself into two important
groups: the microorganism utilizing the organic compounds
within the waste, and also the microorganism utilizing the
lysed product of the primary cluster of Micro-Organisms.
The microorganism utilizing the organic compounds within
MUNICIPAL SOLID
WASTE
GENERATION
(TONS/YEAR)
70000
600
00
500
00
400
00
300
00
200
00
100
00
0
Municipal Solid Waste
Generation(Tons/Year
)
EGYPT SOUTH AFRICA
NIGERIA
KENYA
RWANDA
IN
DI
A

CGC International Journal of Contemporary Technology and Research
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Fig. 3: Work flow
the waste are the foremost necessary cluster and can verify
the characteristics of the treatment system. Species with
fastest growth rate and having the ability for utilization of
organic matter in bulk can predominate. The extent of
secondary predomination can rely upon the length of
starvation. Depletion of the organic substrate is followed-
by death and lysis of the predominate microorganism
unleash of the cellular components of the microorganism
permits alternative microorganism to get older. Since all
biological treatment systems are usually overdesigned as a
security issue, secondary predomination can occur. apart
from the metabolic characteristics of the bacteria, the
foremost necessary characteristic is their ability to
flocculate. All of the aerobic biological waste treatment
systems rely upon the activity of the Micro-Organisms and
their separation from the liquid section for complete
stabilization. It was 1st thought that activity was caused by
one microorganism species, Zoogloeal ramigeria, however
recent studies have shown that there are many alternative
microorganisms that have the flexibility to flocculate. it's
been postulated that all microorganism have the flexibility to
flocculate beneath bound environmental conditions. The
prime factors poignant flocculation are the surface charges
of the microorganism and their energy. The electrical
surface charge on microorganism grown in dilute organic
waste systems has been shown to be below the important
charge for auto-agglutination, 0.02 volts. this implies that
motion provides spare energy to beat the loathly electrical
forces when 2 microorganism approach one another and to
allow the Van der Waal forces of attraction to predominate
and hold the two microorganisms along. Autoagglutination
doesn't ensue if the energy of the system is sufficiently high
to permit the microorganism to multiply and to be speedily
motile. Autoagglutination, or activity, happens solely when
the bacteria lack the energy of motility to beat the Van der
Waal forces. Once floccule has begun to kind, a number of
the bacteria die and lyse. Associate in Nursing insoluble
fraction of the Micro-Organism cell is left that is primarily
polyose. The older the floccule becomes, the additional
polyose builds up and also the less active Micro-Organism
ar entrained in it.
B. FUNGI:
Fungi play a vital role within the stabilization of organic
wastes just exactly the Micro- Organism,fungus will
metabolize ususally each style of chemical mixtures found
in industrial effluents.. The fungi have the potential ability
to predominate over the Micro- Organism however they are
doing not except beneath uncommon environmental
conditions. The thin nature of most of the fungi found in
industrial wastes makes them undesirable since they are
doing not kind a decent compact floccule and settle simply.
For this latter reason, considerable efforts are exhausted to
form the environmental conditions additional favourable for
Micro-Organism predomination than for thin fungi.
The thin fungi predominate over the Micro-Organism
at low atomic number 8 tensions, at low pH, and at low
element. Low atomic number 8 tension results from an
occasional atomic number 8 offer .. Under reduced atomic
number 8 levels, metabolism doesn't proceed to greenhouse
emission and water however stops with the formation of
organic alcohols, aldehydes, and acids. If the system lacks
spare buffer, the organic acids depress the hydrogen ion
concentration to the more favourable vary for fungi. Thus, it
is often seen that low atomic number 8 tension and
hydrogen ion concentration are often reticulated. several of
the fungi grow well at hydrogen ion concentration four to
five whereas few Micro-Organism are able to grow to a
tolerable degree to vie. Fungi need less element than Micro-
Organism per unit mass of living substance. In element
deficient wastes, the fungi ar able to synthesize additional
active masses of living substance from the wastes than ar
the Micro-Organism and predominate. Micro- Organism
average some 10% to 12% element whereas fungi vary
from five to six element. beneath traditional environmental
conditions fungi are going to be present and can aid within
the stabilization of the organic matter. However the fungi
are of secondary importance and cannot predominate.

CGC International Journal of Contemporary Technology and Research
ISSN: 2582-0486 (online) Vol.-3, Issue-2 DOI: 10.46860/cgcijctr.2021.06.31.191
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C. ALGAE:
The algae are the third sort of biological plants that play a
neighbourhood within the over-all stabilization of organic
wastes. Since the alga acquire their energy for synthesis from
daylight, they are doing not ought to metabolise the organic
compounds just like the Micro-Organism and also the fungi.
to create living substance the alga primarily utilizes the
inorganic parts of the wastes, for instance, ammonia,
greenhouse emission, phosphate, magnesium, potassium, iron,
calcium, sulphate, sodium and alternative ions. it's doable to
possess alga and also the Micro-Organism predominate along
since they are doing not utilize the same waste parts.
Throughout living substance synthesis, the alga unleashes
atomic number 8 that is taken by the Micro-Organism to
motivate complete aerobic stabilization of the organic matter.
within the absence of daylight, the alga must obtain the
energy needed to remain alive from the metabolism of
organic matter within the same manner as Micro-Organism
and fungi. This organic matter usually comes from hold on
food among the cell however in some Protoctista species it
will come from the organic material within the wastes.
VII. MICROBIAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
Generally, solid waste will broadly speaking be classified
into perishable and non- biodegradable. The biodegradables
(biowastes) square measure those solid wastes generated, that
can be rotten by microorganisms and doesn't constitute major
sources of pollution for a protracted amount of your time.6
They embody paper product and wastes of plant origin,
wastes of animal origin (faecal matter, carcass, droppings,
and poultry waste products).
These teams of solid waste even if they're simply
degraded by organism in bottom time, give off offensive
odour and represent nuisance to the aesthetic setting quite the
non- biodegradable solid wastes. They can conjointly
represent an honest environment for the thriving of morbific
microorganisms that might simply foul fresh food product
and sources of water within the urban cities in India. On the
opposite hand, non- biodegradable solid wastes aren't
degradable by microorganisms. this means that different
means of treatment like burning, landfill, and use square
measure used as ways in which of disposing them.
Examples of this cluster of solid wastes square measure
solid wastes of scientific discipline and smelting industries
(abandoned vehicles, motor cycles, vehicle half and scrap
metals, iron, zinc, atomic number 13 sheets and different
metals, machine parts); solids wastes of construction
industries (sand, gravel, hydrocarbon wastes, concrete and
waste building materials); solid waste of plastic industries
(plastic buckets, cable insulators, tyres, chairs, tables, plastic
wrap luggage, plastic bottles, cutleries, sachet water
containments, etc.) and glass product.
VIII. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
Management of solid waste reduces or eliminates
adverse impacts on the setting and human health and
supports economic development and improved quality
of life. Composting is that the most often used
biological solid waste treatment methodology that is
that the controlled aerobic decomposition of organic
waste materials by the action of tiny invertebrates and
microorganisms. Composting may be a technique
during which organic waste materials (food, plants,
paper) square measure rotten so recycled as compost to
be used in agriculture and landscaping applications.
The foremost common composting techniques embody
static pile composting, vermin- composting, windrow
composting and in-vessel composting.
IX. CONCLUSION
Waste is any material, that have very little or no worth
to producer or client. Humans with nearly all activities
produce waste. the most important element of municipal
solid waste represents organic fraction, principally from
domestic, agricultural and industrial sources. There are a
unit many alternative strategies of managing municipal
waste streams. These include physical, chemical and
biological strategies. standard waste management practices
typically involve one negative consequence or the
opposite. This necessitated the look for and development
of biological techniques, including the employment of
microorganisms that manufacture environmental-friendly
outcomes.
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