It's a known fact that micro and nano plastics are a serious environmental and health hazard. In a step toward tackling them, a research team led by Professor T I Eldho of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has devised a new technique to identify the presence of these invisible plastic pollutants using microwave radiation. It was done in collaboration with Dr Anil Lonappan of the Mangosuthu University of Technology, South Africa. The laboratory-based technique could be developed to help manage the threats posed by micro and nano plastics.

The study was recently published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, an international platform that publishes papers in the fields of Environmental Science and Engineering.