Gaby
Bottled water may contain far more plastic pollution than we thought. In a study published in the journal PNAS, scientists from Columbia University reported a breakthrough in detecting microplastics. The breakthrough comes from a method called forced combination light scattering, which lets researchers quickly determine the size, composition, and number of these tiny particles.
The study’s authors found an average of about 240,000 microplastic particles per liter. That number astonished the team.
What the Researchers Learned
Smithsonian Magazine reports the analysis is fully automated and takes about two hours — more than ten times faster than previous methods for detecting microplastics in water, Professor Wei Min, the study’s lead author, said.
The method directs two lasers at samples containing micro- and nanoplastics. That double beam of light makes atoms in the particles resonate. By capturing the energy signatures from those atomic vibrations, the researchers can identify the types of polymers present. They can also determine particle size and shape from the tiny way the light scatters off the fragments.
Using this method, Professor Min’s team found that each liter of bottled water contains between 110,000 and 370,000 microplastic particles (about 240,000 on average). The team was surprised to find that a significant portion of the detected plastic was not polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the material used to make the bottles.
The team says the study’s results could help develop strategies to remove microplastics from water.
Plastic Shedding Like Skin
Microplastics are tiny, often toxic particles of synthetic polymer measuring no more than 5 millimeters. They move through air, soil, and water, harming human health and ecosystems. Every time we walk across a synthetic carpet, open a plastic container, drive a car, or wash clothes, we release plastic debris into the environment.
“Plastic is much more like skin than we think; like skin, it constantly sheds,” said Sherri Mason, who studies this issue at Penn State University. All that waste ends up in our water, lungs, and stomachs along with our food and drinks.
Tiny plastics are everywhere — they’ve even been found in breast milk and in Antarctic snow. Scientists say this new method will help make invisible pollution visible and could aid efforts to address the global plastic problem.
