Surprising levels of microplastics found in bottled water

And what we might do about it

A new study from researchers at Rutgers (where I went to school) and Columbia University has discovered a staggering amount of microplastics and nanoplastics in our bottled water - up to 100 times as much as was previously thought.

More than 8 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950’s, and all that plastic isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it is breaking down into smaller and smaller particles called microplastics and nanoplastics. Some scientists have coined our age the Plasticene or “Plastic Age,” a time within the larger Anthropocene era in which plastic is found in the ground, inside living things, and remarkably in rocks. Even the nylon and other synthetic fabrics in our clothing is constantly shedding and breaking off microscopically.

In this new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers counted and identified particles in bottled water, finding that on average one liter of water contained some 240,000 detectable plastic fragments. The technique used to measure these plastics involved probing samples with two simultaneous lasers that are tuned to make specific molecules resonate. They found stuff like polyamide 66, polypropylene, polyethylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate.

Microplastics enter our bodies not just through drinking water (especially bottled water it would seem) but also by simply breathing dust and eating food. Nanoplastics can range down to the size of 1/1000th of a micrometer, which is on the scale of the building blocks our cells use to maintain their homeostasis. This is also the size of many viruses and parasites which our cells defend themselves against. And while plastic is less biologically active than many other nanoparticles in the body, the health effects of our ongoing nanoplastic exposure and accumulation are relatively unknown.

I can’t imagine it’s good.

An article published by the Environmental Working Group highlights how “microplastic shapes can interfere with the digestive and respiratory systems, and their chemical additives and contaminants could harm the endocrine and reproductive systems. Prolonged periods of exposure to airborne microplastics can lead to respiratory problems and increase the risk of cancer. When plastic breaks down in the environment, it can absorb a range of chemical pollutants, or microorganisms that pose additional health risks.”

Another article published in South Korea reviewed knowns and unknowns about microplastics in the environment. They concluded that:

When the size of the plastic becomes smaller and microplastics are formed, they can be absorbed, ingested, or inhaled into the human body through the skin, gastrointestinal system, or lungs. These microplastics can physically block the digestive system, stimulate the mucous membrane, and injure it. Also, when the size of microplastics becomes smaller than 1 micrometer to form nanoplastics, which are ultrafine plastics, they can pass through the primary tissue barriers in the body and penetrate the capillary blood vessels through the blood stream, which then can be dispersed throughout the body.

So what can we do?

Stop buying as much stuff in plastic as possible, especially water bottles. A depressing 600 billion plastic bottles are used globally each year, with 29 billion of those in the US alone. To put that number into perspective: “If you'd start counting now with a perfect rhythm and one number per second, it would take you 19 million years to count to 600 billion…. and that's 1.1 million bottles used every single minute. Between 2004 and 2021, the consumption and production of plastic bottles actually doubled.”

We need leadership, locally and globally. The EU for example is taking various measures to recycle more plastics, develop biodegradable plastics, distinguish harmful substances in plastics, and prevent marine waste generation. 2024 is an election year, and I don’t need to tell you what is at stake. But in terms of the environment, we are already in trouble. The Supreme Court is poised to finish the work of the partisan leaders who have stacked it with anti-environmental figures.

As little nano-individuals on a planet of billions, we can’t fix the plastic problem ourselves. And so we are left to find small measures to help reduce our risks. We can use a reverse osmosis system for our drinking water. I wrote a long post about tap water and drinking safety over a year ago, and I’ll direct you to it for more information and advice. I concluded:

The water we drink is amazingly clean by historic and world comparisons. But it also contains small amounts of thousands of chemicals - many of which can cause health problems with cumulative exposure. If we all drink water right out of the faucet, most of us will be fine, but a few of us will get sick over the years. Water filtration, especially using a reverse osmosis system, helps remove a lot of junk from our water before we drink it.

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And yet researchers have hypothesized that human exposure to microplastics could lead to oxidative stress, DNA damage and inflammation, among other health problems. Particularly, when inflammation becomes chronic, this can pave the way to very serious health problems. However, it’s not only the plastic particles themselves that are potentially harmful: the surface of microplastics in the environment are colonized by micro-organisms, some of which have been identified as human pathogens. Pollutants can also adsorb to the plastic particles which act as vehicles of distribution through our bodies.

The reverse osmosis filter I use for drinking water is designed to reduce impurities from the water down to 1/10,000 of a micron. That’s ten times smaller than a nanoparticle if my math is correct.

Bottom line

Bottled water? So bad for the environment, and full of microplastics and nanoplastics. Support leaders who at least try to protect and clean up the environment, and protect your own health where you can. Countertop reverse osmosis systems are pretty cool, and will save you money in the long run, as the average American spends up to $16,000 on water bottles in their lifetimes.