Elevated fluoride (F⁻) levels in groundwater, primarily due to geogenic processes, pose significant health risks, including dental and skeletal fluorosis and neurological disorders. This study aimed to quantify source-dependent F⁻ exposure at the community level in selected tropical dry regions of Andhra Pradesh, India. These locations include Chintal Cheruvu, Rompicharala, Shantamangalur, Thimmapur, and Nadendla. Community surveys and drinking water sample analyses were conducted in these regions. Dental Fluorosis Index (DFI) was used to estimate exposure levels across age and sex groups. Findings of surveys indicate that groundwater consumption with high F⁻ (4.3 mg/L) results in the highest exposure dose (0.62 mg/kg/day), with Chintal Cheruvu identified as the most affected. A strong positive correlation was observed between exposure dose, water F⁻ content, and the Community Fluorosis Index (CFI), with R² values of 0.98 and 0.97, respectively. Dental fluorosis prevalence exceeded 80% across all age groups, and household surveys revealed 100% unawareness of F⁻ exposure risks. Though there exist many ways to determine the impact of fluoride, the hierarchy of regions may change with the type of parameter chosen. To address this, we developed the Fluoride Impact Index (FII), a multi-criteria index computed considering various parameters indicating the impact of fluoride in a region. The magnitude of FII for Chintal Cheruvu is 0.563 which is highest among the considered regions indicating that it is most impacted region that needs remedial measures first in the hierarchy. Rompicharala with FII as 0.252, Nadendla (0.223), Shantamangalur (0.214), and Thimmapur (0.188) follows the hierarchy. These findings highlight the urgent need to raise awareness about F⁻ exposure risks and to identify sustainable alternative water sources. Immediate interventions, including human health risk assessments using the USEPA approach and the provision of safe drinking water, are critical to achieving SDG-6 of safe drinking water for all by 2030. © 2024

Arsenic (As) accumulation in rice plant from arsenic contaminated groundwater has now become an emerging global concern. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the accumulation pattern of As in different parts of rice plants grown in an As affected area of in order to the make appropriate and safe selection of suitable rice varieties to be cultivated in the As affected areas. The study was conducted by collecting twelve different varieties of rice and soil samples from four arsenic affected villages of Purbasthali II block, West Bengal, India. The soil As level varies between 5.88 and 71.33 mg/kg and soil enzyme activity was recorded 0.215–0.724 µg/24 h/kg soil of amylase, 0.187–4.598 µg/24 h/kg soil of invertase, and 0.103–4.406 µg/24 h/kg soil of cellulose and these activators of soil enzymes were also observed to be affected by arsenic. The highest arsenic accumulation was recorded in root, shoot and leaf of the variety R6 (Voganti) and in rice husk and grain of theR11 (Nayanmoni) and R1 (Miniket), respectively. The overall accumulation pattern of arsenic in different parts of rice plants were in the order of root > shoot > leave > rice husk > rice grain. However, arsenic accumulation varied widely in different cultivars. The mean value of arsenic in rice grain was recorded < 1.0 mg/kg, which was much closer to FAO/WHO prescribed safe limit (1.1 ppm by weight according to FAO, 2019). Our study can be concluded by suggesting varieties like R4 (Miniket) and R8 (Sada Sorno) can be safely cultivated in the As affected areas. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the International Society of Paddy and Water Environment Engineering 2025.

Plastic-aggregates are made up from unused or waste plastic and natural aggregates which have recently been emerged as a significant addition to the existing emerging contaminants list mainly in the coastal environment. The transformation from plastics/microplastics to Plastic-aggregates signifies a crucial shift in our understanding and use of plastics and prompting us to reconsider their fundamental characteristics along with possible environmental threats. When plastic waste is incinerated for the purpose of disposal, it combines with organic and inorganic substances present in the surrounding environment, leading to a new type of material. Besides, some natural factors (physical, chemical, biological or in combination) also act upon discarded plastics to combine with rocks and other earthen materials to form plastic-aggregates. Our research aims to build fundamental knowledge and critically review the possible formation process, classification, and possible degradation of all such polymer-rock compounds along with their impact on the ecosystem. The knowledge gap related to the degradation and release of secondary pollutants from these agglomerates is to be addressed urgently in future research. Development and standardization of proper sampling and reporting procedures for plastic-aggregates can enhance our understanding related to their impacts on human health as well as to the entire environment as these aggregates contain different toxic chemicals

There has been a growing concern over the occurrence of fluoride (F−) in groundwater and the impact of F− exposure on human health issues over the past decades. So, this study conducted a regional–scale assessment of the occurrence and trend of groundwater F− distribution [2014–2018] integrated with locally field–based investigations on F− exposure to a few selected families (10 households and 35 respondents) and reason behind their consumption of F− containing water (n = 18). In the local study, water samples were collected from multiple sources around the selected households by dividing them into consumptive and non–consumptive use. Results revealed that across the state of Andhra Pradesh, the occurrence of F− is more than the permissible limit in groundwater, and it has been increasing over the years (2014–2018) (average SD is 0.55), and the local study showed that the groundwater had an average of 1.5 mg/L F−, while other sourced water had an average of <1 mg/L F−. Most interestingly, nine families are consuming non–F− containing water (<0.52 mg F−/day) which is commercially available, while only one family is consuming F− containing groundwater and being exposed to >3 mg F−/day. This disparity in fluoride exposure is dependent on economic stability and health exposure policies. © 2024 by the authors.

Sustainable development goals (SDGs), notably SDG 6, emphasize the need to preserve clean and sustainable water resources for the well-being of current and future generations. Natural water resources, such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater, play a vital role in sustaining the delicate ecosystems that facilitate life on our planet. Since the presence of contaminants such as heavy metals, agricultural runoff, emergent organic compounds, microplastics (MPs), and microbiological pollutants in the aquatic environment deteriorate the quality of the natural water systems, the progress toward the achievement of SDGs gets challenging and complex. These above stated contaminants follow diverse pathways, including stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff, effluent discharges, and the natural weathering of sediments and solid wastes. The concentration of these contaminants detected in the environment varies largely depending on various factors, such as land use or season, which further add to the difficulties and hence requires proper detection and management strategies. Certain pollutants, such as MPs, are at a very preliminary stage of investigation and their proper detection techniques and classification is the need of the hour. Various mitigation techniques have been explored till date among which many techniques have proved to be beneficial. However, to ensure proper mitigation of contaminants and protection of our valuable natural water resources, integrated efforts of researchers, policy makers, and the community is necessary. Hence, further reinvestigations are required to come up with scalable and economically viable mitigation techniques that will not only focus on contaminant removal but also on reusability of wastewater or resources, which is consistent with the larger goal of promoting sustainability in water resource management. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved including those for text and data mining AI training and similar technologies.

Microplastics (MPs) are impacting coastal and ocean ecosystem and also have been linked with ‘blue economy’, which accounts major portion to the total economy of a nation. The ocean serves as a sink for MPs, receiving them from rivers, runoff, industrial effluents, and direct waste discharge. Consequently, marine organisms are impacted, leading to indirect economic losses, and causing irreparable damage to the blue economy. In addition, the presence of chemicals and microorganisms on MPs is causing detrimental effects on marine organisms, leading to economic repercussions. Coastal tourism, a key aspect of the blue economy, relies on a sustainable and visually appealing environment, which is being threatened by rising marine debris, primarily plastic waste generated by tourists. The clean-up cost is very high, whereas the existing removal technologies do not have higher efficiency and are not that much cost effective. Thus, this study reviews the country wise economic effect of plastic pollution, along with existing policies, regulations and the management strategies to control MPs in marine system considering its potential impacts on sectors associated with marine resources vis-à-vis blue economy. © King Abdulaziz University and Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.

Microplastics, small sized plastic particles having size <5 mm are formed through primary process including production of beauty products, microbeads and microfibres as well as secondary process including mechanical weathering, friction, aberration and fragmentation of large plastics. The major sources of microplastics are land-based and ocean-based sources. Microplastic pollution is a serious concern due to the persistent, low biodegradability and bio-accumulative behaviour. Microplastics can bioaccumulate in the food chain and can cause ecological and human health risk. Hence, it is important to remove from the aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics are removed from aquatic systems and wastewater through a series of processes such as physical, chemical and biological treatments. In the present articles, >250 articles are reviewed to collect the information regarding the various physical, chemical and biological methods for the removal of microplastics. Also, the probable control strategies to combat with plastic pollution were assessed. It was concluded that recent water treatment methods are efficient in removing microplastic pollution. The efficiencies to remove microplastic from the water ranged between 74 %-99.2 %, 65 %-99.20 % and 77 %-100 % for physical, chemical and biological treatment methods, respectively. Among the three treatment methods, physical methods especially the filtration of water from biochar is the most efficient way (efficiency up to 100 %) to remove microplastics. It was also concluded that creating public awareness, promoting reusing, recycling and reducing, and application of bioplastics can control the production of microplastics from plastic wastes. This review will be useful to add current knowledge regarding the abatement of microplastic pollution, and finding novel solution to control microplastics. This review will also help the policymakers to implement most effective and cost-efficient method to remove microplastics, and to find out new methods to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic wastes. © 2024

Drinking water sources with groundwater arsenic (As) contamination face multifaceted challenges in the removal and supply of fresh drinking water resources. To eradicate this problem, bioremediation has evolved to become more effective than other chemical and physical removal processes in its cost-effectiveness, high removal efficiency, and lesser production of secondary by-products or waste. Thus, this study aimed to treat As from aqueous media and to detoxify highly toxic forms of As by the isolated bacteria from As-affected areas. We isolated two new Gram-positive bacteria, which are reported here (Bacillus sp. and Bacillus cereus), with As5+ minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 4500 mg/L for the Bacillus sp. and 1000 mg/L for Bacillus cereus; meanwhile, for As3+, the MICs are 600 mg/L for both isolates. Bacillus sp. and Bacillus cereus can also effectively convert the highly toxic and easily mobile As3+ to As5+ in aqueous media. This study also demonstrates that these bacteria can remove a significant proportion of As3+ and As5+ (averaging 50% for both) from aqueous media. These As-resistant bacteria from the As-affected area can be used and upscaled for the treatment of As for a safer drinking water supply. © 2024 by the authors.

Microplastics (MPs) have already been detected in various environmental matrices like soil, sediment, and surface water, and recently in groundwater also. The occurrence of MPs in groundwater depends up on the transportation through recharge and may controlled by source and local hydrogeology, and partly on the process of surface water-groundwater interaction (SW-GW). Based on the available studies, we intended to establish a hypothetical overview on the source and process-dependent occurrence of MPs in groundwater across terrestrial and coastal aquifers. Groundwater recharge from agricultural stagnant water, losing streams near dumping sites and agricultural fields, effluents from wastewater treatment plants, septic system failure etc. are the potential sources of MPs in groundwater. The factors like sea level rise and tidal pumping are among the major factors which may control the migration of MPs in coastal aquifer along with the physical and chemical properties of the aquifer media. These MPs have another ecological concern as they can adsorb persistent organic pollutants as well as heavy metals and transfer them to animal tissues through food chain. Studies are being conducted mainly focusing the MP contamination in surface water, marine environment and soil, and very limited studies are available to address the source of MPs in groundwater. However, no such study has been done on the existence, profusion, or environmental factors that contribute to MP pollution in the groundwater in relation to the present climate change scenario. Understanding the extent of MP contamination in groundwater systems is necessary for developing effective management strategies and minimizing their impact on the environment and human health. This study focusses on the source along with the controlling factors of the migration of MPs towards groundwater including the effect of climate change. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.