The Truth About Water: Nanoplastics in Bottled vs. Tap Water

2024-01-11 16:50:33

Which bottle water or tap water is purer? Bottled water contains up to 100 times more tiny plastic particles than scientists previously estimated. This is the result of an international study published Monday, January 8, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

If the presence of nanoplastics in bottled water has been known for years, it is the conclusion of the study that is striking. Researchers tested a new technique using lasers to count the number of plastic fragments in water from three popular international brands, without revealing their names, and the result was clear: they found on average 240,000 nanoplastics (from plastic debris) per liter of water.

Tap water as a good “alternative”?

“In the body, microplastics pass through the intestinal and pulmonary barriers, end up in the bloodstream and eventually penetrate the heart and brain.”, recalls in a tweet the hydrologist Emma Haziza who has for years denounced the packaging of water in plastic bottles for health and environmental reasons

The results showed that each liter contained between 110,000 and 370,000 particles per liter, of which 90% were nanoplastics, the rest being microplastics. The most common type of plastic is nylon, which might come from plastic filters used to purify water, followed by polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which makes bottles.

According to a 2022 study from Water Information Center, 68% of French people consume tap water every day, or almost. They are 79% in Provence-Alpes-Côte D’Azur.

What regarding pesticides then?

“The only advice to give is to vary the origin of the water you drink as much as possible.”, suggests Mathilde Montperrus, doctor of chemistry specializing in water quality, to the newspaper The Parisian.

She recalls that “if bottled water contains micro and nanoparticles of plastic, we also know that tap water is contaminated by traces of pesticides”, pesticides mainly resulting from runoff and infiltration into the soil. Moreover, an ANSES report revealed in April 2023 the presence of a pesticide, residue from a fungicide banned for years, in a third of the water distributed in France.

“Water is one of the most controlled industries”, explains Emmanuel Guiol, deputy director of operations at the Société des Eaux de Marseille, who recalls that water quality is studied via thousands of parameters, on the one hand by the companies managing drinking water, in addition to be controlled by the Regional Health Agency (ARS).

The best tap water in Marseille?

If certain regions of France are less well off in terms of drinking water quality, the water from the Durance and the Verdon, protected resources located upstream, which supply the waters of Marseille, guarantee, according to Emmanuel Guiol, water that is “sans pesticides”, because it is protected from all agricultural and industrial activity.

“The limit is one microgram of pesticide per liter, and we are below the even detection limit”, specifies the deputy director of operations. Let us point out, however, that many components other than pesticides, possibly harmful depending on the quantity, can be found in French tap water. Regarding the presence of plastic particles in “the best drinking water in France”, “the law does not require the ARS to measure this type of pollutant”.

Contacted by The ParisianThe House of Natural Mineral Waters, a professional union representing 80% of mineral water bottling brands in France ensures “carefully follow the publication of scientific reports”.

The biggest danger remains dehydration

In study from the Bordeaux laboratory carried out on more than 40 brands of bottled water in France and published in 2022, the manufacturers assured that “all analyzes confirmed the compliance of bottled water with regulations. The results of the study also show the very high quality of these waters protected by their exceptional geological situations as well as by the environmental protection measures implemented by professionals to preserve these sources..

“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”, however warned the co-author of the PNAS study, Beizhan Yan.

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