2024-01-13 22:02:16
A study carried out by the University of Chile, tested 12 brands of bottled water and estimated the concentration of microplasticsand concluded that there may be a consumption of between 160 and 270 plastic particles per kilogram of body weight for one year per person.
However, according to one of the researchers, this does not mean a direct threat to health, but rather “it is a point that should be better explored.”
Study of microplastics in bottled water in Chile
The study was carried out by the Department of Chemistry of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Chile, published in the international scientific journal Environmental Pollution and collected by La Tercera.
In the investigation carried out in 2022, it was tested 12 brands of bottled water sold in the Metropolitan region, both national and foreign brands, to know the size and concentration of microplastics.
To do this, they used fluorescence microscopy and Nile Red staining, and concluded that “the smallest microplastics in the sample, which varied between 5 and 20 microns (similar to what a white blood cell can measure), They represented more than 50% of the particles found in each bottle“.
According to the aforementioned media, such quantity and dimensions are likely to accumulate in the digestive tract or generate potential alterations in the lymphatic and circulatory systems.
The bottled water brands with the highest amount of microplastics
Specifically, the concentration of microplastics in bottled water commercial products was 391 average estimated particles per liter (p/l), while purified bottled water (filtered or processed) showed the highest concentrations of microplastics, with 519 p/l.
Meanwhile, waters of lake origin reached 364 p/l; while bottled waters from natural springs were the ones that obtained the lowest figures.
In that sense, the national brands of bottled water with the highest amount of microplasticsAccording to the study, they are:
1. Pure Water: 633 particles average estimates per liter.
2. Pure Life: 475 particles average estimates per liter.
3. Benedictine: 450 particles average estimates per liter.
*These three brands also correspond to purified water (filtered or processed, explains LT).
4. Puyehue Bio: 392 particles average estimates per liter.
5. Andes Mountain: 359 particles average estimates per liter.
6. Puyehue: 342 particles average estimates per liter.
7. Cachantun: 333 particles average estimates per liter.
8. Vital: 242 particles average estimates per liter.
Regarding international brands:
– Fiji: 508 average estimated particles per liter.
– Cream water: 492 average estimated particles per liter.
– Evian: 250 average estimated particles per liter.
– Sole of goats: 217 average estimated particles per liter.
Study conclusions:
Considering an average consumption of at least 38 liters of bottled water per year in our country, one of the study authors, Professor Carlos Manzano, explained one of the main conclusions to La Tercera.
According to his words, a person might be consuming between 160 and 270 plastic particles for every kilogram of your body weight for a year.
But the above “does not mean that there is a direct threat to health, but rather it is a point that should be better explored,” he added.
It is worth remembering that a recent study, published in a prominent American scientific journal, revealed that Bottled water might contain up to 100 times more tiny plastic particles than previously estimated.
The researchers, applying a novel technique, found an average of 240,000 microscopic plastic fragments per liter in well-known brands of bottled water.
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