Miami (AFP) - The world's leading brands of bottled water are contaminated with tiny plastic particles that are likely seeping in during the packaging process, according to a major study across nine countries published Wednesday. "Widespread contamination" with plastic was found in the study, led by microplastic researcher Sherri Mason of the State University of New York at Fredonia, according to a summary released by Orb Media, a US-based non-profit media collective. Researchers tested 250 bottles of water in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Thailand and the United States. Plastic was identified in 93 percent of the samples, which included major name brands such as Aqua, Aquafina, Dasani, Evian, Nestle Pure Life and San Pellegrino. The plastic debris included nylon, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene, which is used to make bottle caps. "In this study, 65 percent of the particles we found were actually fragments and not fibers," Mason told AFP. "I think that most of the plastic that we are seeing is coming from the bottle itself. It is coming from the cap. It is coming from the industrial process of bottling the water." Particle concentration ranged from "zero to more than 10,000 likely plastic particles in a single bottle," said the report. On average, plastic particles in the 100 micron (0.10 millimeter) size range -- considered "microplastics" -- were found at an average rate of 10.4 plastic particles per liter. Even smaller particles were more common -- averaging about 325 per liter. Other brands that were found to contain plastic contaminated included Bisleri, Epura, Gerolsteiner, Minalba and Wahaha. Experts cautioned that the extent of the risk to human health posed by such contamination remains unclear. "There are connections to increases in certain kinds of cancer to lower sperm count to increases in conditions like ADHD and autism," said Mason. "We know that they are connected to these synthetic chemicals in the environment and we know that plastics are providing kind of a means to get those chemicals into our bodies." - Time to ditch plastic? - Previous research by Orb Media has found plastic particles in tap water, too, but on a smaller scale. "Tap water, by and large, is much safer than bottled water," said Mason. The three-month study used a technique developed by the University of East Anglia's School of Chemistry to "see" microplastic particles by staining them using fluorescent Nile Red dye, which makes plastic fluorescent when irradiated with blue light. "We have been involved with independently reviewing the findings and methodology to ensure the study is robust and credible," said lead researcher Andrew Mayes, from UEA's School of Chemistry. "The results stack up." However, representatives from the bottled water industry took issue with the findings, saying they were not peer-reviewed and "not based on sound science," according to a statement from the International Bottled Water Association. "A recent scientific study published in the peer-reviewed journal Water Research in February 2018 concluded that no statistically relevant amount of microplastic can be found in water in single-use plastic bottles," it added. "There is no scientific consensus on the potential health impacts of microplastic particles. The data on the topic is limited and conclusions differ dramatically from one study to another." Jacqueline Savitz, chief policy officer for North America at Oceana, a marine advocacy group that was not involved in the research, said the study provides more evidence that society must abandon the ubiquitous use of plastic water bottles. "We know plastics are building up in marine animals, and this means we too are being exposed, some of us every day," she said. "It's more urgent now than ever before to make plastic water bottles a thing of the past."
There are so many risks with plastic. Since they're made with a mold, there's a compound sprayed on the mold called a "Mold Release". It used to be Bisphenol A, IIRC. Then, they found that it acts as an Estrogen, wreaking havoc on the reproductive cycles of both men and women. If you leave plastic bottles in the trunk of your car, the heat makes the plastic out-gas any petrochemicals trapped in the plastic. The result is toxic drinking water.
Let's go back to using water skins! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterskin You could make then look very decorative on the outside, and start a new "all natural, good for the ecology/economy" "fad" thing
@Joe C: We used to fill them with wine and take them to the concerts in Central Park. Such great times. If you're allergic to Latex, you need to be careful as some of the newer wine (uhh...water) skins are lined with Latex.
I'm thinking you could probably get cow bladders real cheap....put some frilly bling on them and your sales are good to go!
It's time for the glass packaging to come back, no one has ever done any research yet, plastic packaging has been around for a long time!
every body is talking about water bottles what about juice bottles , milk , mustard , soups , cheese , wine , vodka , just about anything is packaged in some type of plastic even vitamins cellphones we live in a plastic society , credit cards the list goes on and on
I agree just about everything we consume now comes package in plastic containers....i assume is because plastic is cheaper than glass and can be recycle.
I like my wine out of a glass bottle, I don't think they make anything other than plastic for water bottles. I wonder what water taste like from a goat bladder?
aren't most plastics made from petroleum products ? if so what would we use when petroleum to make plastic runs out use wood or some type of plant ? my recycled waste controller has me separate my plastic waste , any thing with an opening of about 3 inches or more has to go into the garbage dump ! if you get to think about it we dump a s**t load of plastic with our regular garbage then after the landfill is closed for a few years we build houses on them lol " and some people with basements wonder where the methane smell in the basement comes from" or driving down the road by the dump and smelling methane and that isn't the scary part what is the plastic doing in the ground. I like my beer out of a bottle not a can out of a keg isn't bad LOL
I actually mostly drink tap water........but when I buy water I buy glass bottles. I don't mind the extra weight.... Also I'd never buy beer or wine that comes in a plastic bottle.....and I wouldn't use plastic 'glasses' to drink anything....it's a sort of unaesthetic... When it comes to micro plastics..... It is a shame that micro plastics are still used directly in cosmetic products and toothpaste as peeling agent or abrasive.... The use of micro plastics as additives should be forbidden...we have enough of them and will get more and more due to 'natural' abrasion from larger particles of plastic waste dumped somewhere into the sea...