Drinking from a plastic water bottle likely means ingesting microplastic particles, a new study claims, prompting fresh concerns — and calls for scientific research — on the possible health implications of widespread plastics pollution.
A study carried out on more than 250 water bottles sourced from 11 brands in nine different countries revealed that Microplastic contamination was nearly universal, found in more than 90% of the samples.
Its in tap water too...
"The contamination is particularly high in the United States, where 94% of faucet water is affected, including in samples from the U.S. Capitol and the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency."
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/news/a28109/almost-all-drinking-water-is-contaminated-with-plastic/
...well that sucks...
I guess we will have to give up drinking water and switch to beer. Municipal water comes from deep wells so suppose my well water is contaminated too. Now that that has been discovered, has anyone figured out if the micro particles are bad for you?
The health effects haven't been studied much, but it can't be good IMO.
"There is an expanding knowledge base on microplastics for marine and freshwater organisms and ecosystems, but our understanding of the potential human health effects from exposure to microplastics constitutes major knowledge gaps. Humans can be exposed to plastic particles via consumption of seafood and terrestrial food products, drinking water and via the air. However, the level of human exposure, chronic toxic effect concentrations and underlying toxicological mechanisms by which microplastics elicit effects are still too poorly understood to make a full assessment of the risks to humans."
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph/special_issues/microplastics
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-01/documents/microplastics-in-freshwater-environment.pdf
I wonder if the microplastics, which release endocrine-disruptors, might be related to the drop in male fertility seen in recent years.
Quote from: waterboy on March 15, 2018, 03:20:30 PM
I guess we will have to give up drinking water and switch to beer. Municipal water comes from deep wells so suppose my well water is contaminated too. Now that that has been discovered, has anyone figured out if the micro particles are bad for you?
Our (Eugene, Oregon) municipal water is from rivers.
I would think well water would not have these plastic particles since it is 1) filtered through the ground and 2) water underground can be quite old (hundreds of years or more).
An RO machine should remove all of these particles.
Wallace says 94% of tap water is affected. That sounds like Rivers, Lakes, and Wells to me. I just wonder what the other 6% is, Glacier melt maybe, or possibly direct rainwater.