Researchers found hundreds of thousands of plastic particles in one-liter bottles of water sold in the US, 90% of them small enough to enter the human bloodstream.
By Coco LiuJanuary 9, 2024 at 1:01 AM GMT+5
Updated on January 10, 2024 at 12:38 AM GMT+5
A recent study found that the average one-liter (33-ounce) bottle of water includes almost 240,000 plastic pieces. The researchers concluded that a significant portion of those fragments have previously gone unreported, indicating that health risks associated with plastic pollution may be greatly overstated.
The peer-reviewed study is the first to assess bottled water for the presence of "Nano plastics," or plastic particles smaller than one micrometer, or one-seventieth the breadth of a human hair. It was published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. Since prior research only took into account microplastics, or particles between 1 and 5,000 micrometers, the results indicate that bottled water may contain up to 100 times more plastic particles than previously thought.
Because they are smaller than microplastics and can enter the bloodstream, affect organs, and pass through human cells, nanoplastics are a bigger hazard to human health. Moreover, nanoplastics can enter the bodies of unborn children through the placenta. Although they have long known that bottled water contains them, scientists have not had the tools to identify specific nanoparticles.
The co-authors of the study overcame this difficulty by developing a novel microscopy method, developing a data-driven algorithm, and using both to examine about 25 liters of bottled water that were bought from three well-known US brands. (The brands were not disclosed by the researchers.) Ninety percent of the microscopic plastic particles, ranging from 110,000 to 370,000, were discovered in each liter.
Lead author Naixin Qian, a graduate student at Columbia University studying chemistry, says, "This study offers a powerful tool to address the challenges in analyzing nanoplastics, which holds the promise to bridge the current knowledge gap on plastic pollution at the nano level."
This used to be just an unknown, gloomy place. "Toxicity studies were merely speculating about what might be present," says Columbia University environmental chemist and study co-author
Beizhan Yan. "This creates a window through which we can view a world to which we were previously blind.”
The researchers focused on seven popular types of plastic, such as polyamide, which is frequently used in filters to filter water before it is bottled, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used to make many water bottles. However, scientists also found a large number of unknown nanoparticles in the water. There may be far more plastic in bottled water if some of those are also
nanoplastics.
The International Bottled Water Association released a statement stating that there is "no scientific consensus on the potential health impacts of nano- and microplastic particles" and that the study's methodology
"needs to be fully reviewed by the scientific community." Regarding the study's conclusions, the association remained silent.
Over 450 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide annually, most of which is disposed away in landfills. Most plastics eventually break down into smaller bits rather than decomposing naturally. Tiny plastic fragments are also frequently lost during use from items made of plastic, such as many synthetic textiles.
Although plastic pollution is a global problem, scientists are particularly interested in bottled water due to its potential to introduce plastic particles into human bodies. According to a 2022 study, tap water has a lower concentration of microplastics than bottled water. A 2021 report issued a warning, stating that merely opening and shutting the cap on a plastic water bottle can cause small plastic particles to be released into the drink.
Comments
Post a Comment