Plastic bottle can have 3.7 lakh toxic particles
Aksheev Thakur
New Delhi January 9
In a one-litre plastic water bottle, scientists have discovered that there are thousands of particles of nanoplastics, posing potential risk to health.
Can invade body cells
Nanoplastics are believed to be more toxic (than microplastics) as due to their smaller size these can invade body cells. — Study
A peer-reviewed study, “Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy,” published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to have evaluated bottled water for the presence of nanoplastics using a new microscopy technique.
Microplastics refers to pieces of plastic that are smaller than 0.5mm in diameter, which is roughly equivalent to a grain of rice. Nanoplastics are smaller, at just 100 nanometres or less.
The study said the entry of nanoplastics could be at the time of packaging the bottles. The researchers found the presence of nanoplastics in polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which many water bottles are made from, and polyamide that is used to purify water before it is packaged.
“The existence of microplastics and possibly even nanoplastics has recently raised health concerns. In particular, nanoplastics are believed to be more toxic since their smaller size renders them much more amenable, compared to microplastics, to enter human body,” the study said.
The researchers analysed 25 one-litre plastic water bottles from three different brands sold in the United States.
It was found that each litre contained 1,10,000 to 3,70,000 tiny plastic particles in each with 90 per cent being nanoplastics. The researchers have not revealed the names of the brands.
The researchers have claimed that the study provides a powerful tool to address the challenges in analysing nanoplastics and will reduce the knowledge gap in addressing plastic pollution.
“Plastic pollution has been a rising global concern, with increasing plastic consumption every year. Microplastic contamination is prevalent almost everywhere and even human biological samples. Moreover, mounting discoveries suggest that the fragmentation of plastic polymer does not stop at the micron level, but rather continues to form nanoplastics,” the study added.
