Undercounted: These Hard-To-See Pieces Of Plastic Are Probably Harming Us.
A New Study Finds Hundreds of Thousands of Tiny Plastics In Water Bottles. Plus, The Secrets of Satellite Beach Is A New Docu Coming Soon.
Let me preface this story by saying that the choices we make about our drinking water are increasingly complicated. I still believe that if your water is poisoned, finding a new source of drinking water either by leaving the area or drinking bottled water will always be the better option.
But plastic water bottles are not without concern. A new study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that on average a liter-sized plastic water bottle (about 33 ounces) contains about 240,000 detectable plastic fragments. That’s about 10 to 100 times more than previous estimates.
And no this research is not sponsored by Stanley, despite the recent craze for these colorful reusable water bottles.
Researchers from Columbia University and Rutgers University used a newly refined technology to help identify nanoplastics, the spawn of microplastics that have broken down even further.
To review, microplastics are small plastic particles, usually under 5 millimeters in size, derived from various sources, such as discarded plastics, textiles, and even personal care products like face wash and soaps. These particles are byproducts of larger plastic products breaking down and are so tiny that they can route through water filtration techniques and become pervasive in both our environment and in our bodies. These teeny tiny bits of plastic can get absorbed into the human bloodstream, according to research.
This most recent study focuses on nanoplastics, which are even smaller degraded plastic pieces that are less than 1 micrometer in length. They are so tiny they can pass through the intestines and lungs directly into the bloodstream and travel into other organs including the heart and brain. They can invade individual cells and cross through the placenta to the bodies of unborn babies.
Medical scientists are racing to study the possible effects on a wide variety of biological systems.
“Previously this was just a dark area, uncharted. Toxicity studies were just guessing what’s in there,” said study coauthor Beizhan Yan, an environmental chemist at Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “This opens a window where we can look into a world that was not exposed to us before.”
The new study employed a technique called stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, which was co-invented by study coauthor Wei Min, a Columbia biophysicist.
This method involves probing samples with two simultaneous lasers tuned to make specific molecules resonate. Targeting seven common plastics, the researchers created a data-driven algorithm to interpret the results.
“It is one thing to detect, but another to know what you are detecting,” Min said.
The researchers tested three popular brands of bottled water sold in the United States (declining to name which ones), analyzing plastic particles down to just 100 nanometers in size. They found 110,000 to 370,000 plastic fragment in each liter, 90 percent of which were nanoplastics; the rest were microplastics.
The team identified a common plastic called polyethylene terephthalate or PET. It’s what many water bottles are made from and it’s also used for bottled sodas, sports drinks, and products like ketchup and mayonnaise.
It probably also seeps into water as bits slough off when the bottle is squeezed or gets exposed to heat. One recent study suggests that many particles can enter water when you repeatedly open or close the cap, and tiny bits abrade.
However, PET was outnumbered by polyamide, a type of nylon. Ironically, Yan said that it probably comes from plastic filters used to purify the water before it is bottled. Other common plastics the researchers found include polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polymethyl methacrylate, which are all used in various industrial processes.
But the researchers also uncovered some unknown plastics. In fact, the seven plastic types they searched for only accounted for about 10 percent of all the nanoparticles found in samples. That means they have no idea what the rest are.
If they are all nanoplastics, that means they could number in the tens of millions per liter. They could be almost anything, “indicating the complicated particle composition inside the seemingly simple water sample,” the authors wrote.
The research team also plans to investigate tap water, which also has been shown to contain microplastics, though far less than bottled water.
Yan is running a project to study microplastics and nanoplastics that end up in wastewater when people do laundry. He has counted millions per 10-pound load, coming off synthetic materials that comprise many items, so far. He and his colleagues are also designing filters to reduce the pollution from commercial and residential washing machines.
They also are collaborating with environmental health experts to measure nanoplastics in various human tissues and examine their developmental and neurologic effects. We have very little data on this impact right now, but if I had to guess, I would say these particles are not great for our health.
We’ve written before about plastic pollution and how plastic water bottles contribute to this rising global issue.
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere & Bottled Water Too
Plastic pollution is a major problem and getting more attention lately. Here’s a roundup of a few recent stories: Environmental Justice Perspective A new UN Report highlights the impact of plastic pollution on already vulnerable populations around the world.
More than 440 million tons of plastic are produced each year, according to the United Nations, and about 80 percent of that plastic ends up in landfills or in the environment.
The Secrets of Satellite Beach
In the aftermath of burying toxic waste at Patrick Air Force Base in the ‘70s, Secrets of Satellite Beach is a documentary following cancer survivors who were exposed to the tainted water supply in this Florida town.
Until recently, unregulated radioactive waste and cancer-causing firefighter foams have been buried on Florida’s Patrick Air Force Base. The repercussions of this have been cancer and rare autoimmune disease clusters popping up through the Satellite Beach area. Once a dream place to retire, veterans and others have been poisoned on their own soil. Many of you may remember that I visited this town more than five years ago to address concerns and proposed a course of action for the city that was never taken.
You can support the making of this film here or follow along with the filmmakers on Instagram.
Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below. Have you heard about nanoplastics in water bottles? Are you working on an environmental project you’d like more people to know about? Share below!