Water Quality | What are Micro Plastics? Now Nano-Plastics too?

WHAT ARE MICRO PLASTICS? NOW NANO-PLASTICS TOO?

Micro plastics (MPs) are an emerging contaminant that may pose risks to human health and the environment. There are currently no standard methods to characterize and quantify MPs in environmental and biological matrices. Micro plastics (MPs) in the environment result from either the direct release of micro-sized (Large < 5 mm, Small 1 um to 1 mm) plastic particles or degradation of larger plastic debris. In addition, there are polymer types that have typically been ignored that are receiving increased attention, such as halogenated polymers, polymer blends, and tire particles. Nano plastics (< 100 nm) are also receiving increased attention because of the risk they pose due to their increased surface area, environmental transport, and biological uptake

All of us use plastic in some form or another. Approx. 300 million tons of plastic is manufactured every year.  Not all of it is recycled. It lands up in rivers, ocean, soil and air too. Plastics have a long degradation rate up to >500 years. So over time the plastic breaks down into smaller particles and gets spread out contaminating the environment - soil, ocean, surface water, ground water, and landfills. Over time micro plastics leach toxic chemicals, including endocrine disruptors such as bisphenol and phthalates

WHERE DO micro plastics come from?

Resin pellets, synthetic fibers, paints, beads, medical products, tires

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH RISKS?

Currently research is ongoing with several studies in progress. There are three main areas of potential concern with micro plastics: the plastics themselves may have some effect on human physiology, micro plastics might complex with heavy metals or other chemical compounds in the environment and act as a vector for bringing them into the body, and it is possible that micro plastics might serve as vectors for pathogens. It is as yet unknown if exposure to micro plastics at the levels found in the environment represent a "real" risk to humans.

HOW TO FILTER MICRO / NANO PLASTICS FROM WATER

Homeowners should consider installing water filters designed to reduce or eliminate harmful contaminants like micro plastics and Nano plastics from the water supply.

Water filtration systems that use reverse osmosis effectively greatly reduce the amount of micro / Nano plastics in contaminated water.  These systems also reduce or eliminate the majority of contaminants like microscopic level, filtering compounds bacteria, viruses, chlorine, lead, and microorganisms. These are available as counter top or under the sink models. The filtered water is ideal for drinking and cooking.

Some owners believe that a RO water purifier is expensive to maintain. However with proper monitoring of the system it need not be expensive. The TDSBot makes your RO System smart. It monitors water quality in real time, alerts you for changes in quality, predictive maintenance alerts and most important know when to change filters based on water quality and volume of water filtered.

Resources

https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2017-01/documents/microplastics-in-freshwater-environment.pdf

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tiny-plastics-in-your-clothes-are-becoming-a-big-problem-11551963601

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microplastics