With more than 30 years’ experience in the residential and commercial water treatment space, Mark Nelson is a Class 1 Drinking-Water Operator and a CBWA (Canadian Bottled Water Association) Certified Plant Operator. As founder and president of Nelson Water in Ottawa, Mark focuses on dealing with challenging water treatment system designs for problem water. He also heads the largest water bottling plant in the city of Ottawa with a delivery network throughout the Valley.

Most of us are aware of the environmental impact of the modern world. One particular area of concern is plastics, more specifically, microplastics. Here we’ll delve into this topic to help you discover how to reduce or eliminate microplastics from your drinking water.

The Microplastic Basics:

The definition of microplastics is very small bits of plastics that are less than five millimeters long. In fact, the most common forms of microplastics are actually far smaller and often microscopic in size. Microplastics can vary in size, shape, density, and chemical composition, but all post a pollution threat to the environment.

In regards to water supplies, there is a subset of microplastics called nanoplastics. These are very small and are most likely to be found in water supplies.

The Dangers of Microplastics:

It is commonly understood that microplastics pose a danger to aquatic and marine life. But, you may not be aware that recent studies have discovered the presence of microplastics in samples of tap and bottled water. This means that there is a chance that your drinking water may contain microplastics, so what does this mean for human health?

In a 2017 study, the research team hypothesized there could be potential toxicity issues from the cumulative results of ingesting microplastic fibers. Unfortunately, there is no concrete answer as to whether microplastics just pass through the body or represent a danger. Researchers and scientists have yet to gain a full understanding of the implications of microplastic ingestion on human health. The evidence remains ambiguous.

Microplastics and their impact on human health is still a relatively new area of study. According to the World Health Organization, there is “insufficient information” to be able to draw firm conclusions on plastic particle toxicity. But, the WHO does comment that there is no reliable evidence highlighting a concern. The health impacts of ingestion of microplastics have not been well studied, specifically, there have been no human studies, so more research is needed.

How is Water Contaminated With Microplastics?

Microplastics can enter water supplies from a variety of sources. This includes byproducts from manufacturing, cleaning products, wastewater effluent, or larger plastic items, such as plastic bottles that have broken down. There is even speculation that dust from car tires could contribute to microplastics in the water.

Unfortunately, microplastic particles are found throughout our environment. They can enter freshwater and surface water supplies, and even after passing through treatment facilities, they could still end up in our taps. Despite the common purification methods in use, their small size makes elimination tricky.

According to Sherri A. Mason, Ph.D., the Chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences of The State University of New York, these tiny particles of plastic are everywhere. Unfortunately, air, soil, and water connect all of us, and when these commons are contaminated, the contamination can get into everything.

How Much Microplastic is in Drinking Water?

As we touched on earlier, there has not been a great deal of research conducted on microplastics. But, there have been several studies examining the presence of microplastics in the environment. One study which involved samples from numerous European countries, including Germany, France, and the UK, found microplastics in 72 percent of the samples. There were 1.9 microplastic fibers in an average sample of 500 milliliters of tap water. The situation is thought to be worse in the USA, where microplastics were found in 94 percent of samples with an average of 4.8 microplastic fibers in the same 500 ml size sample of tap water.

According to research published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal, humans consume 39,000 to 52,000 pieces of microplastic on average per year. If you rely on tap water to meet your hydration requirements, this increases your ingestion by 4,000 pieces. Worryingly, if you typically drink bottled water, you could be ingesting a further 90,000 pieces.

Other research found that 93% of samples from bottled water contained some levels of microplastic contamination. It is thought that these plastics came from the bottling process and packaging.

Removing Microplastics From Your Water:

So, it would appear that if you are concerned about microplastics, tap water may be a better option. By avoiding bottled water, you can drastically cut down the ingestion of microplastics. But, how do you further eliminate microplastics from your water supply?

Most microplastic particles measure more than 0.5 microns. This is larger than the pores of a water filter. So, you can trap and remove a large volume of microplastics from your water with a simple filtration system.

Carbon block filtration is engineered for lead reduction in water. Since the majority of plastic particles are 2.5 microns are larger, this type of filtration can do a credible job of eliminating microplastics from your water.

If this does not provide sufficient reassurance, you could opt for a reverse osmosis filtration system. RO systems contain a semi permeable membrane that can filter particles down to 0.001 microns. This allows the elimination of 99.99% of contaminants, including metals, salts, and a large volume of microplastics. You can use RO as an under sink or point of use system or employ a whole house, point of entry system. RO can also be used as a stand alone treatment or in concert with other treatment methods.

Whole House or Point of Use System?

Once you determine the best choice of water treatment system, you will need to consider whether you want a whole house or point of use system. While it may be easy to assume that microplastics are only a problem when consuming tap water, there could be other consequences. Although most microplastic issues may be resolved with a point of use system in your kitchen, there is still an argument for a whole house system. The small size of microplastic particles means that there is a risk that they may be inhaled during showering or bathing. This can be a particular problem if you have a pre-existing lung condition, as the plastic particles may lodge in the lungs, causing irritation.

If you have concerns about microplastics in your water supply, be sure to speak to a professional water treatment technician. An experienced pro can not only test your water, but guide you through the treatment solutions most appropriate to your water conditions.