2024-01-11 22:48:00
Scientists have counted an average of 240,000 detectable plastic fragments per liter of bottled water. The health risks for the human population remain unknown.
Water in plastic bottles, particularly mineral water, enjoys a good reputation among many people, often because of its supposed purity. However, this water contains up to 100 times more tiny plastic particles than previously estimated, according to the results of a study published this Monday, January 8, 2024.
Using an innovative technique, scientists counted an average of 240,000 detectable plastic fragments per liter of water, following testing the product from several popular brands.
Fragments of plastic present everywhere
Microplastics are less than 5,000 micrometers (or 5 millimeters), while nanoplastics are less than one micrometer. They are so small that they can enter the blood system and therefore into organs, including the brain and heart.
“We know that they are everywhere, whether they are micro or nanoplastics, in nature, in the seas but also in our bodies, in the lungs, the blood…”, explains Mathilde Monperrus, doctor in chemistry, to Parisian specialist in water quality at the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour.
In March 2022, an unprecedented study published in the journal Environment International revealed that these plastic residues were present in human blood. They have also already been detected in the human placenta.
Effects on the intestinal system
But what are the risks for human health? “There is little certainty, particularly because we do not know to what quantity of micro and nanoplastics we are exposed,” Muriel Mercier-Bonin, research director at INRAE at the Toxalim unit in Toulouse, explains to BFMTV.com. .
Research is indeed still limited, but some studies have already shown harmful effects, for example on the reproductive system.
Muriel Mercier-Bonin and her collaborators also demonstrated, for the first time, the harmful effects of exposure to microplastics on the human intestinal microbiota. To do this, they reproduced the human intestinal ecosystem and followed its evolution during exposure to polyethylene microparticles.
Result: the researchers observed an alteration of the microbiota in its composition and activity. “There is an increase in the abundance of potentially pathogenic bacteria and a decrease in certain beneficial species,” explains Muriel Mercier-Bonin.
“There is therefore probably a weakening of gastrointestinal functions,” she adds.
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According to the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), studies on animals suggest harmful effects on metabolism, the intestine, brain development, damage to equipment genetics or even cellular respiration, which can lead to early death.
The particularity of nanoplastics
In addition, nanoplastics, which are rather small than microplastics, “have an increased ability to cross the intestinal barrier” and this might have other harmful consequences. These particles are likely to cross the body’s natural barriers, therefore entering the blood and reaching organs, such as the brain.
In addition, these nanoplastics “can become loaded with other pollutants”, explains Muriel Mercier-Bonin. By breaking up, these tiny pieces of plastic increase their specific surface area and can thus become vectors of other pollutants.
“We can already fear that the toxic substances transported by these micro and nanoparticles, such as bisphenols for example, will add deleterious effects to the intrinsic toxicity of the plastic fragments themselves,” the toxicologist tells Le Monde. Nicolas Cabaton, who specifies that “knowledge is still lacking” on the subject.
What alternatives?
“We do not recommend not drinking bottled water when necessary, as the risk of dehydration may be greater than the potential consequences of exposure to nanoplastics,” he says.
“The only advice to give is to vary the origin of the water you drink as much as possible. Because if bottled water contains micro and nanoparticles of plastic, we also know from other work than that of tap is contaminated by traces of pesticides,” Mathilde Monperrus told Le Parisien.
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