New research shocks researchers: That much nanoplastic is really in a water bottle?

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Microplastics are everywhere: in water, in food and even in the human body. The exact concentration is difficult to detect with conventional methods. The much smaller nanoplastic particles are only 0.0001 millimeters in size – too small to measure.

Researchers from Columbia University in New York have now changed that. The scientists have developed a method to detect the small particles more accurately. They focused on researching bottled water.

A hundred times more particles than expected

The results shocked the researchers. Because they found an average of 240,000 of these plastic particles per liter bottle of water – compared to 5.5 particles per liter of tap water. That is about a hundred times more than previously thought. They also discovered that only ten percent of the plastic found is microplastic, the rest consists of nanoplastic particles.

One of the most frequently detected nanoparticles was polyethylene terephthalate PET. No surprise for the scientists, because it is used to make water bottles. Polyamide, a type of nylon, was also found. “Ironically, it probably comes from the plastic filters that clean the water before it is bottled,” explains Beizhan Yan, an environmental chemist and co-author of the study.

Unknown health effects

But one thing worries the researchers: they can only attribute about ten percent of the nanoparticles to a plastic; the other 90 percent is unknown. Biophysicist Wei Min, co-author of the study, said the research opens up a new field for science: “Studying nanoplastics is important because the smaller the things are, the easier it is for them to enter us.”

The high levels of nanoplastic particles in water bottles are worrying as researchers fear they could build up in vital organs, with unknown health consequences. The particles are so small that they can directly enter the blood cells and the brain.

Nanoplastics have already been linked to cancer, fertility problems and birth defects. The National Institute of Environmental Health Science says the plastic particles are also linked to “developmental, brain, immune and other problems.” (gs)

Source: Blick