Scientists have shown increasing concern over the impact of environmental contaminants on human health. As we learn more about the detrimental effects to human health of long-term exposure to pollutants via a growing body of research, our focus turns to developing strategies that can protect us from contaminants to prevent unnecessary health issues.
One contaminant, in particular, has gained a lot of attention, plastics that degrade slowly into microplastics have been shown to pollute water, food, and even the air we breathe. While microplastic exposure has been linked with numerous health implications, we currently are only at the beginning of understanding the full impact of this kind of contamination.
Now, a new study has shown that there are high levels of microplastics in the human diet and that drinking water is a significant source.
Drinking Water. Image Credit: Alina Kruk/Shutterstock.com
Microplastic exposure linked with cancer and infertility
Although plastic is one of the most widely used materials on the planet, its impact on human health is not fully understood. Since the material was first created, humans have produced more than 8 billion tons of it, and to date, less than 10% of it has been recycled. This leaves billions of tons of plastic added to the environment, slowly degrading into tiny particles known as microplastics, measuring less than 5mm in size which can easily contaminate our environment including the food we eat and water we drink. Evidence has even shown that tiny fragments of plastic even exist in the air we breathe.
This is concerning taken together with recent studies that have found microplastics within human organs such as the kidneys, liver, and lungs, and have linked this kind of pollution with infertility and cancer.
Inspired to gather more data on the risks of micro/nanoplastic exposure to human health, the Emerging Risks of Micro/nanoplastics: Perspectives From Diverse Sectors symposia at the 2020 Society for Risk Analysis virtual Annual Meeting, December 13-17, 2020 is focussing on bringing to light what we currently know about the risks of plastic exposure concerning the physical and chemical transformation of plastic, environmental effects, hazard characterization, social implications, and policy limitations.
At the symposia, the world's first regulatory investigation of microplastics in drinking water will be presented by Scott Con, Ph.D., California State Water Resources Control Board. In this presentation, Con will cover the actions taken to comply with the 2018 Senate Bill that outlines that the State Water Resources Control Board must standardize the definition of microplastics in water, establish methods of quantifying and monitoring the level of microplastics in drinking water, monitor microplastics in drinking water for four years and publicly disclose the results, facilitate consumer interpretations of the results, and accredit laboratories to analyze microplastics.
Con stresses the importance of establishing standardized techniques for analyzing microplastics, “the standardization of methods to analyze microplastics is urgently needed to reliably compare data from different studies”.
Microplastics found in New York tap water
Recent research conducted in New York on its municipal tap water supplies has revealed significant levels of microplastics in this source of drinking water. The study, led by James McGrath at the University of Rochester, used novel methods utilizing nanomembrane filtration tools to evaluate the microplastic entrainment along the municipal water delivery route. These methods are easier than current techniques and may facilitate the rapid detection of microplastics in water supplies across the country.
Researchers stress that such measures will need to be implemented large-scale to monitor levels of contamination in drinking water throughout the US. Data collected from these methods will likely be invaluable to reducing contamination and protecting human health.
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