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. 

Plastic pollution is widely regarded as a pervasive problem with negative effects around the globe. In addition to the detrimental effects on marine life, contribution to climate change, and compromising our living environment, the production, use, and disposal of plastic is now impacting our water quality. One area of particular concern is microplastics.

What Are Microplastics?

Microplastics are tiny particles of plastic that are either intentionally produced for consumer products or created when larger debris is broken down. Perhaps the most pervasive type of microplastic is microfiber. This involves small strands of plastic being used to produce synthetic fabrics including nylon and polyester. When clothing made using these fabrics is washed, there is shedding of some of the microscopic fibers. Recent research into this phenomenon highlighted that up to 250 thousand fibers could be released in just a single wash.

The impact of microplastics comes from their tiny size. This size allows their ability to evade most forms of filter, and they can even enter the bloodstream of any organism which consumed them. Recent research into the area of water contamination found traces of microplastics in 83% of the tap water samples taken from major cities from around the world. The study also found traces in samples from the top 11 bottled water brands in the world.

While it is difficult to establish a causal link between the potential health impacts of exposure to microplastics without intentionally exposing human subjects, there has been an observable correlation between a higher rate of certain health problems and the presence of plastic substances in the blood, notably phthalates and BPA. Some of these issues include reproductive and chromosomal abnormalities, childhood obesity, increased blood pressure and early puberty.

Improving Our Drinking Water Quality

There are three areas to improve our drinking water quality from the threat of microplastics: Prevention to limit the amount of plastic reaching bodies of water, innovation to find new ways to remove plastics already in the water supply and activism to make people aware of the problem and participate in reducing consumption and plastic contamination.

While there are systemic solutions being developed, there are a few measures we can take to reduce our contribution to microplastic contamination and limit the risks of plastic related health problems. These include:

  • Proper Disposal of Plastics: Properly disposing of all plastic produces will not only reduce more obvious plastic pollution of waterways, beaches, and open spaces, but also prevent the creation of microplastics.
  • Pick Up Trash: Whenever you see trash, particularly plastics, it is crucial to pick it up and ensure it is disposed of properly. You should pay particular attention to areas around rivers, streams, ponds, and beaches. You could also participate in any organized clean up activities in your area.
  • Do Your Product Research: Research products and make a choice not to buy any products that contain microbeads. Look for brands that use natural exfoliators rather than microbeads.
  • Change Your Laundry Habits: There are a number of ways to wash your clothing to reduce the release of microfibers. This includes washing synthetic clothing less frequently, using a fiber filter when you wash synthetic clothing, using bags in your washing machine to collect fibers and not cleaning dryer lint down the drain. You should also consider switching to liquid laundry soap, as powder can loosen more microfibers. If you’re planning on upgrading your washing machine, opt for a front loading model as these produce fewer fibers compared to top loading models.

The Health Risks of Plastic in Drinking Water Supplies

While you may already be aware of the implications of plastics in seawater making their way into the food chain through marine animals, new research suggests that plastic fibers and particles are more common in drinking water supplies.

The research study was commissioned for publication by a media company and was not reviewed in a scientific journal, but it does highlight the need for further studies.

Many drinking water treatments may be ineffective at removing these particles. Sedimentation techniques, in particular, require particles such as silt and clay settling at the bottom of treatment tanks. Plastic microparticles have a lower density than water, so they will float and therefore not be removed.

Another concern is that we don’t understand what happens to plastic particles on entering the human gut. While it is possible that they may pass through the body without absorption like indigestible roughage, smaller particles have the potential to enter the bloodstream or even the cells.

Recent studies looked for particles that were larger than 2.5 microns. These are ten times smaller than the cells lining the gut, but nanoparticles 0.1 microns or smaller could enter the cells.

There is also concern that plastic microparticles may become carriers for other toxins to enter the human body. Generally, plastic microparticles repel water, but will bind with non-dissolving toxins. For example, microparticles can bind to compounds that contain toxic metals such as lead or mercury. If microparticles enter the human body, these toxins could start to accumulate in the fatty tissues.

Protecting Your Tap Water

There are several techniques that can be used to remove microplastics from tap water. This includes carbon block filtration that can remove particles larger than 0.5 microns. Since the smallest particles are typically 2.5 microns or bigger, this would do a credible job and is a readily available form of water treatment.

Another technique is electro-adhesion that is employed by pulsar disrupter filters to filter out sub micron level particles. This can not only remove bacteria, heavy metals, viruses, and cysts, but also plastics.

Finally, you may also wish to consider reverse osmosis. This technique uses a semi permeable membrane to separate water from contaminants as small as 0.0001 microns. A whole house R.O system can be used to ensure plastic exposure is significantly minimised or eliminated.

If you have concerns about microplastics in your water, it is important to speak to a water treatment professional. An experienced technician can assess your water quality and guide you through the treatment options to not only eliminate plastics, but any other contaminants that could be impacting your water quality.