At this point, it is common knowledge that bottled water It contains micro plastic — Insidious debris that can be as small as a bacterial cell. But it turns out the problem is much more serious than previously known, with bottled water containing hundreds of thousands of even smaller substances.
a paper In a paper published Monday, a new technique was used to analyze a 1-liter sample of bottled water for plastic granules, which are just 50 to 100 nanometers long (about the width of a virus). same). They found nearly 250,000 of these small particles per liter, about 10 to 100 times more than previously published estimates.
„We've opened up a whole new world,“ Wei Ming, one of the study's authors and a professor of chemistry at Columbia University, told Grist. Until now, scientists had no way to quickly and efficiently identify nanoplastics, hindering research into their health and environmental effects.
To conduct the analysis, researchers at Columbia University and Rutgers University filtered three different brands of bottled water through ultrafine membranes. She then illuminated the membrane with her two lasers, which were tuned to recognize the chemical bonds that bind the nanoplastic particles. That way I just had to count all the different particles of plastic. They estimated that a typical 1-liter bottle contains 240,000 of them.
Sherry Mason, an associate research professor at Penn State Erie who studies microplastics and was not involved in the new research, called the technology „groundbreaking.“
„I was shocked,“ she told Grist. „That's really good.“
Furthermore, the researchers were able to distinguish between different types of nanoplastics. Surprisingly, most of the particles were not polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The material that most water bottles are made from. Rather, more particles of polyamide (a type of nylon) and polystyrene were found, and, somewhat ironically, contaminants are getting into bottled water as a result of the bottled water filling and purification process. was suggested.
Polyamide also accounted for the majority of contamination by mass in the two bottled water brands. The third brand showed a higher level of his PET.
This discovery has important implications for human health, as nanoplastics are small enough to pass through the gastrointestinal tract and lungs. After entering the bloodstream, it lodges in the heart and brain, and can even cross the placenta and enter the fetus. It's not yet clear how the particles affect humans, but toxicologists say they may leach chemicals or release pathogens picked up while floating in the environment. Concerned about sexuality.Several the study It suggests potential damage to DNA and the brain, as well as the immune, reproductive, and nervous systems.
„We know we're being exposed, but we don't know the toxicity of the exposure,“ said Beizan Yang, an environmental chemist at Columbia University and one of the paper's co-authors. He called for further collaboration with toxicologists and public health researchers to better characterize the risks. For now, he said, he's choosing tap water whenever possible. They tend to have less plastic pollution.
Wei believes there are several promising directions for further research. First, his team was able to increase the number of plastic polymers that can be identified using laser microscopy technology. Their most recent paper featured only seven cases. You can also look for nanoplastics in other places, such as packaged foods and packaged foods. Drainage from washing machineimproving technology to detect even smaller particles.
„The current detection limit is 50 to 100 nanometers, which is not difficult,“ Wei said.
Mason said the study should prompt action from U.S. policymakers. They have the power to limit plastic production; Breaking away from plastic pollution laws — federal bill It was resubmitted to Congress for a third time in October last year. — or by supporting plastic reduction as part of the United Nations’ work. global plastic treaty.
“We don’t want a plasticized world,” she said. „We need to make it clear to our representatives that we need to chart a new path forward.“