Micro-plastics in Bottled Waters

Why in news?

A new research has shown the presence of micro-plastic particles in bottled drinking waters.

What are the findings?

• Bottled waters are found to be contaminated with plastic including polypropylene, nylon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
• A single bottle could hold dozens or possibly even thousands of microscopic plastic particles.
• The study finds a global average of 10.4 plastic particles per litre, in the 100 micron or 0.10 millimetre size range.
• The tests also showed a much greater number of even smaller particles which are also likely plastic.
• The global average for these smaller particles is around 300 per litre.
• Water in glass bottles is also found to hold micro-plastics.

Why is the study so significant?

• Bottled water is marketed as the very essence of purity.
• It is in fact the fastest-growing beverage market in the world.
• Bottled water output will soon hit 300 billion litres a year.
• Packaged water is a lifeline for many people worldwide who have no other option for safe drinking water.
• Notably, some 4,000 children die every day from water-borne diseases.

What is the concern with micro-plastics?

• Sources - Micro-plastics are particles that are smaller than 5 millimetres in size.
• They enter the environment as primary industrial products, such as those used in scrubbers and cosmetics.
• It could also enter via urban waste water and broken-down elements of articles discarded by consumers.
• Washing of clothes too releases synthetic microfibres into water bodies and the sea.
• Presence - Micro-plastics escape the filtration and treatment processes for waste water, and end up in sites of nature.
• The durable properties of plastics make them persistent and slow to degrade in the environment.
• Evidently, various studies have found micro-plastics in the oceans, soil, air, lakes, and rivers.
• It thus enters the food chains of even birds, animals and fishes.
• This results in significant global impacts on wildlife, from marine environment pollution.

Is this a human health concern?

• Micro-plastics hold the potential for both bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
• It may thus finally end up in the human body.
• But based on current limited knowledge on the effects, there is little human health concern.
• This is because the human body is well-adapted to dealing with non-digestible particles.
• As much as 90% of micro-plastic that is consumed might be excreted.
• Of the other 10%, some plastic under 150 microns (0.15 millimetres) could enter the gut's lymphatic system.
• It may pass from the bloodstream to the kidneys or liver.
• Notably, the recent bottled water study finds plastics within this range.
• But how plastic behaves in the gut is still based on assumptions from scientific models and not from proper studies.
• Also, the knowledge on the various chemicals present in plastics is limited.
• So the health impact may not yet be clear, but indisputably these are contaminants.
• Research evidence from complementary fields indicates that accumulation of these chemicals can induce or aggravate immune responses in the body.

What does it call for?

• Awareness - Micro-plastic is not directly regulated in bottled water.
• But legislations make it clear that there must be no contaminants.
• It is the government's responsibility to educate people to know what they are drinking and eating.
• Studies - The WHO has come forward to commission a review of the health impact of plastics in water.
• More such studies, as a globally coordinated effort, are necessary to assess the impact of plastics on health.
• India - India has a major problem dealing with plastics, particularly single-use shopping bags.
• These reach dumping sites, rivers and wetlands along with other waste.
• The most efficient way is to control the production and distribution of plastics.
• Banning single-use bags and making consumers pay a significant amount for the more durable ones is a feasible solution.
• Enforcing Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, requiring segregation of waste materials, will reduce the burden on the environment.
• Waste separation can be done in partnership with the community, and it presents a major employment opportunity as well.
• The very nature of plastics has to be changed from being cheap and disposable to durable, reusable and fully recyclable.

Source: The Hindu

Quick Fact

Bioaccumulation

• Bioaccumulation is the accumulation of substances or chemicals in an organism, and toxins building up in a food chain.
• It occurs when an organism absorbs a substance at a rate faster than that at which it is lost by catabolism and excretion.

Biomagnification

• Biomagnification is the increasing concentration of a toxic substance at successively higher trophic levels in a food chain.