Image of water bottle dumping microplastics

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NGSS: Core Idea: PS1.A, ESS3.C, LS1.A, ETS2.B

CCSS: Reading Informational Text: 2

TEKS: 6.11A, 6.5B, 7.13A, 8.5B, ENV.10C

Are You Drinking Plastic?

A new study finds that bottled water contains a startling amount of plastic particles. And they may be harming your health.

AS YOU READ, THINK ABOUT how pollution in the environment may affect human health.

You’ve just finished soccer practice. Feeling hot and thirsty, you crack open a plastic bottle of water and gulp it down. But beware: That bottle contains more than just a refreshing drink. Recent research has found that every liter of bottled water contains hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic particles and fibers too small to see with the naked eye.

The study adds to a growing pile of evidence that plastic particles enter our bodies through food, drinks, and even the air we breathe. Plastic bits get into drinks and foods through contact with their plastic containers or wrappers. They also come from plastic litter in the environment. This plastic releases particles into the water supply and soil, which plants absorb and animals consume. The particles end up in all kinds of meats, vegetables, fruits, packaged foods, and beverages we eat and drink.

You’ve just finished soccer practice, and you’re hot and thirsty. So you open a plastic bottle of water and gulp it down. But beware. That bottle contains more than just a refreshing drink. Recent research shows that every liter of bottled water contains hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic particles and fibers. They’re too small for the naked eye to see.

The study adds to the growing evidence about a problem with plastic. Plastic particles enter our bodies through food, drinks, and even the air we breathe. Plastic bits get into drinks and foods from plastic containers or wrappers. They also come from plastic litter in the environment. This plastic releases particles into the water supply and soil. Plants absorb them and animals eat them. The particles end up in all kinds of meats, vegetables, fruits, packaged foods, and beverages. Then we eat and drink them. 

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You may be eating the amount of plastic in this credit card every week!

Previous research has found that people may ingest a credit card’s worth of plastic every week (see A Spoonful of Plastic?Science World, August 30, 2021). Scientists are now trying to figure out plastic’s effects on our health. For example, a new study has found a possible link between plastic particles and heart problems. But don’t panic: It’s never too late to start reducing the amount of plastic in your life.

Earlier research looked at the amount of plastic that people ingest. It may be a credit card’s worth every week (see A Spoonful of Plastic?, Science World, August 30, 2021). Scientists are now studying plastic’s effects on our health. For example, a new study found a possible link between plastic particles and heart problems. But don’t panic. It’s never too late to reduce the amount of plastic in your life.

TINIER AND TINIER

Plastic is everywhere. Manufacturers produce hundreds of millions of tons of this material each year (see How Much Plastic?). Plastic is composed of polymers, large molecules made up of repeating units. It’s cheap to produce and durable. These qualities make plastic pollution a big problem. Unlike wood, paper, or metal, discarded plastic doesn’t biodegrade, or naturally break down. Instead, it disintegrates into microplastics, plastic bits less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) across—just about anything smaller than a pencil’s eraser. Even recycling doesn’t solve the microplastics problem: Recycling facilities chop or shred plastic before melting it, releasing huge amounts of microplastics into the environment.

Plastic is everywhere. Manufacturers produce hundreds of millions of tons of it each year. The material is made of polymers. These are large molecules of repeating units. Plastic is cheap to produce and long-lasting. These qualities make plastic pollution a big problem. Wood, paper, and metal biodegrade. But plastic doesn’t naturally break down. Instead, it crumbles into microplastics. These plastic bits are less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) across. That’s almost anything smaller than a pencil’s eraser. Even recycling doesn’t solve the microplastics problem. Recycling facilities chop or shred plastic before they melt it. That releases huge amounts of microplastics into the environment.

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MICROSCOPIC PARTICLES: Microplastic includes plastic pieces smaller than a grain of rice. Most can’t be seen without a microscope.

Scientists have discovered microplastics just about everywhere on Earth, from mountaintops to the seafloor. The particles have also been detected in foods and drinks—including bottled water. Previous studies had found several thousand microplastic particles per liter of bottled water. But scientists suspected those results underestimated the true quantity. That’s because their equipment was unable to detect particles smaller than a certain size.

Microplastics are just about everywhere on Earth. Scientists have found them on mountaintops and on the seafloor. They’ve also detected the particles in foods and drinks. That includes bottled water. Earlier studies found several thousand microplastic particles per liter of bottled water. But scientists suspected that the true amount was higher. That’s because their equipment couldn’t detect particles under a certain size. 

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE PROBLEM

Now a team of scientists has developed a way to detect nanoplastics less than one-thousandth of a millimeter across, smaller than a bacterium. In a recent study, they found an average of 240,000 plastic particles per liter of bottled water—more than 10 times as much as previous estimates. The team used a microscope that shines two lasers, or concentrated light beams, onto samples. One laser hits the atoms in plastic particles, making them move. The other laser sends information about that movement to a computer. This allowed the researchers to measure the number of particles and—in some cases—identify specific types of plastic.

The researchers tested samples from three popular brands of bottled water. They found particles of the types of plastic used to make the bottles and their caps. They also found particles of plastics used in water filters and pipes. The remaining particles haven’t yet been matched to likely sources.

Now a team of scientists has found a way to detect much smaller nanoplastics. These are less than one-thousandth of a millimeter across. They’re smaller than a bacterium. In a recent study, the scientists found an average of 240,000 plastic particles per liter of bottled water. That’s more than 10 times as much as anyone had counted before. The team used lasers, or concentrated light beams. A microscope shines two lasers onto samples. One laser hits the atoms in plastic particles and makes them move. The other laser sends information about that movement to a computer. This allowed the researchers to measure the number of particles. In some cases, they could identify the types of plastic.

The researchers tested three popular brands of bottled water. They identified some of the types of plastic particles in the samples. Some were the kinds in the bottles and their caps. Some were used in water filters and pipes. They haven’t figured out where the other particles came from yet. 

KYLE GRILLOT/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES

ONE MORE TIME: Many types of plastic can’t be recycled. The rest can be recycled only once or twice before becoming unusable.

Most of the particles—90 percent—were ultra-small nanoplastics. “We know from other chemicals like air pollution that the smaller a particle is, the more likely it is to have toxic effects,” says Phoebe Stapleton, who helped conduct the study. She’s a toxicologist, a scientist who studies substances that can affect health, at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Tiny particles may be better able to slip through the body’s defenses, allowing them to travel deeper into tissues. “Nanoplastics seem to do the same thing,” says Stapleton.

Ninety percent of the particles were ultra-small nanoplastics. “We know from other chemicals like air pollution that the smaller a particle is, the more likely it is to have toxic effects,” says toxicologist Phoebe Stapleton. She studies substances that can affect health at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and she helped conduct the study. Tiny particles may slip through the body’s defenses more easily. So they can travel deeper into tissues. “Nanoplastics seem to do the same thing,” says Stapleton.

PLASTICS IN THE BODY

Scientists are only just beginning to study the effects of plastic particles in the body. Recently, researchers from Italy and the U.S. investigated microplastics and nanoplastics in the human cardiovascular system, which includes the heart and blood vessels.

The study focused on 257 people who had surgery to remove plaques, or fatty deposits, from an artery in their neck. If these blockages grow too large, they can disrupt the flow of blood, causing health problems. Once the plaques were removed, the scientists examined them to see if they contained plastic particles. Then they monitored the patients’ health over the next three years.

How do plastic particles affect the body? Scientists are just beginning to research that question. Recently, researchers from Italy and the U.S. did a study. They looked at microplastics and nanoplastics in the human cardiovascular system. That includes the heart and blood vessels.

The study focused on 257 patients. They had surgery to remove plaques from an artery in their neck. If these fatty deposits grow too large, they can block the flow of blood. That causes health problems. After the plaques were removed, the scientists examined them. They wanted to see if the plaques contained plastic particles. Then they monitored the patients’ health for three years.

PLASTIC WHERE IT DOESN’T BELONG

R. MARFELLA ET AL./NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 2024

MICROPLASTIC PIECES
In a recent study, surgeons identified tiny jagged pieces of plastic in tissue from the blood vessels of people with cardiovascular disease.

The team found plastics—mostly nanoplastics—in plaques from 150 of the patients. They also found that patients with plastic present had higher levels of inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s response to tissue damage. It’s thought to raise the risk of heart attack, which results from a blockage of blood flow to the heart. Inflammation may also increase risk of stroke, caused by uncontrolled bleeding or loss of blood flow in the brain. During the three-year study, patients with plastic detected in their plaque were 4.5 times more likely to die or suffer one of these serious cardiovascular problems than those without detectable plastic.

“This study has for the first time associated plastic pollution with human health and disease,” says study author Dr. Raffaele Marfella, a surgeon in Italy. If further studies confirm this connection, says Marfella, “the implications for cardiovascular health are staggering. This is a problem we cannot afford to ignore. And the only defense is prevention through reducing plastic pollution.”

In a world that produces record quantities of plastic every year, addressing the issue may seem overwhelming—but every bit helps (see Steps to Reduce Plastic Pollution). Marfella is hopeful that the new data will spark awareness and a call to action to confront the problem of plastic pollution. “This alarm message will help people and governments recognize that human health and planetary health are united,” says Marfella: “Plastic-free is healthy for the heart and the Earth.”

The team found plastics in plaques from 150 of the patients. The particles were mostly nanoplastics. In these patients, they also found higher levels of inflammation. That’s the body’s response to tissue damage. Researchers believe it raises the risk of heart attack. This condition results from a blockage of blood flow to the heart. Inflammation may also increase risk of stroke. That’s caused by heavy bleeding or loss of blood flow in the brain. During the three-year study, the team compared all the patients. The ones with plastic in their plaque were 4.5 times more likely to die or suffer a heart attack or stroke.

“This study has for the first time associated plastic pollution with human health and disease,” says Dr. Raffaele Marfella. He’s a surgeon in Italy and one of the authors of the study. If other studies confirm this connection, “the implications for cardiovascular health are staggering,” says Marfella. “This is a problem we cannot afford to ignore. And the only defense is prevention through reducing plastic pollution.”

The world produces record amounts of plastic every year, so the problem may seem overwhelming. But every bit helps. Marfella hopes that the new data will make people aware of the problem of plastic pollution and inspire them to push back. “This alarm message will help people and governments recognize that human health and planetary health are united,” says Marfella. “Plastic-free is healthy for the heart and the Earth.” 

ASKING QUESTIONS: What else do you wonder about micro- and nanoplastics in the environment, in products, or in our bodies?

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