In the Sri Lankan context, the lack of baseline studies to mitigate microplastic emissions through personal care and cosmetic products poses a huge problem. Hence this study serves as the first scientific investigation to analyze and characterize microplastics in selected personal care and cosmetic items available in the Sri Lankan markets. Fifteen brands representing five categories (face wash, facial scrubs, baby creams, shaving creams, and skin creams) of personal care and cosmetic items served as the basis for this investigation. Based on a questionnaire survey, from each category, three highly utilized brands were chosen and triplicates from each brand were used for the analysis. All samples were treated with the Fenton reagent to extract microplastics. Then through Nile red staining suspected microplastic were screened and characterized through FT-IR spectroscopy. The Nile Red analysis revealed seven brands of the fifteen to be stained with Nile Red and demonstrate luminance properties under UV light. However, FT-IR analysis proved only six brands contained actual microplastics. Low-density polyethylene and ethylene-propylene copolymer were the dominant types of microplastic. Most microplastics were irregularly shaped and white in color with sizes ranging from 238.55 ± 50.74 to 450.69 ± 174.9 μm. An emission estimation revealed that products FS-01 and FW-03 contain 3.36 ± 0.20 g and 0.2 ± 0.05 g of isolatable microplastics per product. While the present study provides scientific evidence for the availability of microplastics in products in Sri Lankan markets, it also provides a great opportunity to develop relevant policies and regulations to control them.

Synthetic fibers are widely used in daily life due to their durability, elasticity, low cost, and ease of use. The textile industry is the primary source of synthetic microfibers, as these materials are mostly used in production processes. Globally, plastic pollution has been identified as a major environmental threat in this era, since plastics are not degradable but break down into smaller particles such as mesoplastics, microplastics, and microfibers. Synthetic microfiber pollution is a significant issue in aquatic ecosystems, including oceans and rivers, with laundry wastewater being a major source. This problem is particularly pressing in cities like Galle, Sri Lanka, where numerous tourist hotels are located. Despite the urgency, there has been a lack of scientific and systematic analysis to fully understand the extent of the issue. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the generation of microfibers from laundry activities at a selected hotel and evaluating the efficiency of a laundry wastewater filtration system. This study focused on a fully automatic front-loading washing machine (23 kg capacity) with a load of 12 kg of polyester–cotton blend serviettes (black and red). Samples (1 L each) were taken from both treated and untreated wastewater during four wash cycles, with a total of 100 L of water used for the process. The samples were filtered through a 100 μm sieve and catalytic wet oxidation along with density separation were employed to extract the microfibers, which were then collected on a membrane filter paper (0.45 μm). Microfibers were observed and analyzed for shapes, colors and sizes under a stereo microscope. Results revealed that untreated laundry wastewater contained 10,028.7 ± 1420.8 microfibers per liter (n = 4), while treated wastewater samples recorded 191.5 ± 109.4 microfibers per liter (n = 4). Most of the microfibers observed were black and white/transparent colors. Further analysis revealed that 1 kg of polyester–cotton blend fabric can generate 336,833 microfibers per wash, which was reduced to 6367 microfibers after treatment. The filtration unit recorded an impressive efficiency of 98.09%, indicating a remarkably high capacity for removing microfibers from wastewater. These findings highlight the potential of such filtration techniques to significantly reduce microfiber emissions from laundry wastewater, presenting a promising approach to mitigating environmental pollution from microfibers.

The term “geo-resources” refers to all geological resources that serve as the basis for life in modern-day society. The beach systems associated with the southwestern and southern coastal zones are well rich in headland bay beaches and zeta-form beaches of different sizes. Among those beaches, beaches are also a significant feature in the selected area from Maggona Head (southwestern coast) to Rekawa Lagoon (southeastern coast). The evolution of these beaches depends on wave forcing and morphological characteristics, and the morphological feature is defined as a beach lying on the leeward side of a headland subjected predominantly to wave attack. These beaches characteristically have a seaward-concave plan shape resulting from erosion caused by refraction, diffraction, and reflection of waves into the shadow zone behind the headland. Tide-induced currents have no direct effect on the plan shape of headland-bay beaches in the area. Various physical changes were observed in the study areas via Google Earth Pro, and historical imagery was used to understand the changes. MepBay software was used to evaluate the stability of the beaches. Aerial images of the bayed beaches were opened via MepBay software, and the following control points were defined manually. According to the findings, the coastline and coastal zone have changed drastically over the years. Coastal infrastructure development and accretion/erosion caused by monsoon wind patterns are the main influences on such changes, and many embayed beaches in the study area are in static equilibrium, but few are in a dynamic equilibrium state. Most beaches are either used for fisheries or for tourism activities. However, since many beaches have the potential to be used as renewable energy sources and biodiversity hotspots, the present study suggests incorporating as many uses as possible into these resources rather than utilizing them for a single purpose. However, proper scientific studies should be conducted prior to commencing such activities to ensure long-term sustainability.

Pyrite sulfur and fossil diatom analysis, coupled with the radiocarbon dating, provides important information regarding the sedimentary environment and past sea level fluctuations. Since this knowledge is beneficial in predicting future climate change patterns and sea level variations, the present study examines the paleo sea-level changes of Fujii, Okayama Prefecture, Japan, using fossil diatom assemblage and sedimentary pyrite formation. Based on the pyrite sulfur content, a marine environment has been developed at a depth of 1.8 meters around 6,745 ± 80 years BP. This result has been verified with the finding of high pyrite sulfur percentage and the presence of marine diatoms. Based on the paleo salinity variations defined by concentrations of pyrite sulfur, a sea level rising period has been observed from 11,035 ± 160 years BP to 6,745 ± 80 years BP (from 2.4 m to 1.8 m depth), and it perfectly aligns with the sea level changes in the early Holocene period. Additionally, the diatom assemblage in this depth change from freshwater (i.e. Navicula sp., Melosira sp.) to marine (i.e. Melosira architecturalis Brun, Nitzschia sp.), supporting the findings. Finally, the reducing pyrite concentration above 1.8 m reflects the reduced marine influence due to receding sea levels and the introduction of more freshwater, which is supported by the presence of more freshwater diatoms.