In a trailblazing new study, researchers have discovered bottled water sold in stores can contain 10 to 100 times more bits of plastic than previously estimated — nanoparticles so infinitesimally tiny they cannot be seen under a microscope.

At 1,000th the average width of a human hair, nanoplastics are so teeny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells, experts say.

One liter of water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics, of which 90% were identified as nanoplastics and the rest were microplastics, according to the new study.

    • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
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      10 months ago

      A couple recommendations from the article:

      The new finding reinforces long-held expert advice to drink tap water from glass or stainless steel containers to reduce exposure, Mason said. That advice extends to other foods and drinks packaged in plastic as well, she added.

      “We can avoid consuming foods and beverages in plastic containers. We can wear clothing made from natural fabrics and buy consumer products made from natural materials,” Houlihan said. “We can simply take stock of the plastic in our daily lives and find alternatives whenever feasible.”

  • Candybar121@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I’m still in shock so many people actually continue to buy plastic bottles. Not only is it wasting your own money and plastic, you could have just bought one reusable water bottle and have it last you for years.

    The only case I understand someone buying plastic bottles is because there is literally 0 other way to safely get drinking water, like idk Flint Michigan or Lima Peru. Almost everyone else has easy access to safe tap water, and yet they buy plastic again and again! If you continue to waste plastic bottles, you probably deserve this at this point.

  • ryannathans@aussie.zone
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    10 months ago

    If you read the article, almost all of the nano plastic by particle count is from cheap polyamide reverse osmosis water filtration membranes - not the bottles.