Study Finds Alarming Microplastic Pollution Near Taj Mahal Stretch Of Yamuna

Lucknow: A recent study conducted by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an environmental research body, has found that a 12-kilometre stretch of the Yamuna riverbed near the Taj Mahal contains the highest levels of toxic microplastic pollution among four sampled locations along the river.

The research, which began in 2024, collected data from surface water and sediment at four sites: Poiya Ghat, Parvathi Ghat, Hathi Ghat, and the stretch near the Taj Mahal. The sediment sample from the Taj Mahal site showed a concentration of 800 microplastic particles (mps) per kilogram — the highest among the sites studied. The other sites showed significantly lower levels, ranging from 480mps to 600mps.

The report, which was cited during a meeting at the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute — an education and training initiative of the CSE — at Nimli in Rajasthan.

The findings point to runoff from laundry activities, discarded fabric fragments, plastic packaging, and tyre degradation as primary sources of contamination. Textile fibres alone accounted for 57% of the microplastics detected in sediment, followed by fragments from packaging materials (36%). The most common colour observed was black — often linked to tyre particles — making up 27% of the samples, followed by yellow at 21%.

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In terms of surface water pollution, the Taj Mahal stretch recorded the second-highest concentration at 17mps per cubic metre. Hathi Ghat showed the highest contamination in water, at 46mps, attributed to nearby large-scale cloth-washing activities and wastewater discharge from surrounding drains.

The study, has been shared with the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Although India currently lacks legal thresholds for microplastic concentration, researchers noted that the levels observed in the Yamuna — particularly near the Taj Mahal — were significantly higher than in other stretches of the river or even in the Ganga, where a separate study found 428mps per kilogram in sediment samples from Bengal.

Experts warn of serious health implications. Microplastics, which range from 1 nanometre to 5 millimetres in size, can enter the human body through water or food and are capable of infiltrating organs, crossing the placenta and blood-brain barrier. Once inside the body, they may cause inflammation, vascular issues, and carry toxic chemicals or pathogens into the system.

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The UNDP in its report suggests that these compounds are linked to serious health issues such as endocrine disruption, weight gain, insulin resistance, decreased reproductive health, and cancer.

Given the reliance on the Yamuna for drinking water and fishing in the region, the findings have raised concerns about public health and ecological safety. Further assessments of microplastic levels in other rivers are expected in the near future.