CIFRI Awards
Barrackpore, Kolkata,West Bengal
Microplastics and heavy metals are contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Most of the researchers and stakeholders are unaware of the ill effects, detection and research related to the emerging contaminants like microplastics in India. For this, a training programme on “Advances in Heavy Metals and Microplastics Analysis (ICP-MS & µFTIR)” was held in ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata from 02-06 February 2026.
The 5-days training aimed to impart knowledge on advanced techniques in heavy metal and microplastics analysis of environmental samples, including fish and other biological samples, using advanced analytical instruments like Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (µFTIR). The training was attended by a broad spectrum of 19 participants comprising of students and research scholars with various academic backgrounds like aquatic environment management, fisheries resource management and zoology from different institutes and universities of the country.
Besides theoretical sessions on heavy metal and emerging contaminants, principles and components of ICP-MS and µFTIR, the trainees were exposed to field sample collection from the river Ganga followed by processing and preparation for analysis. The core effort was focused on new and improved data analysis techniques of the targeted pollutants from environmental matrices by experts from ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore, aimed to improve the analytical skill, quality of research publication and reporting by the trainees. During the session, Dr. Basanta Kumar Das, Director, ICAR-CIFRI and Course Director of the training programme urged that monitoring and reporting of the polluted water bodies is highly imperative for proper management for achieving the one health and one planet concept.
