Plastic hazard

A NEW study has found that a litre of bottled water contains about 2.4 lakh toxic plastic pieces on an average, 10-100 times higher than the earlier estimates that largely focused on plastics of larger sizes. The US study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted by a research team led by Columbia University’s scientists. They tested three popular US bottled water brands and found between 1.1 lakh and 3.7 lakh particles in each litre; 90 per cent of the plastics were nanoplastics and the rest were microplastics. Nanoplastics are described as tiny, undetectable particles, smaller than a micrometre; the size of microplastics ranges from a micrometre (a millionth of a metre) to 5 mm.

Nanoplastics are regarded by scientists as potentially more hazardous than microplastics as they are far greater in number and can enter the lungs, heart, brain and the bloodstream. They can also cause metabolic disorders, cellular imbalance and intestinal inflammation. The study is of immense importance for Indian consumers as the country had recorded the second-fastest growth rate after South Korea in the mineral water segment in a three-year period (2018-21), according to a UN report. India was 14th in the world in terms of the volume of bottled water consumed in 2021.

Even as there is a question mark over the quality of packaged water sold in India, the type of plastics used for manufacturing the bottles — usually, polyethylene terephthalate — is also under scrutiny now. A robust regulatory system is a must to ensure that the bottled water industry maintains high standards of safety. At the same time, there is a need to encourage the use of alternatives such as bottles made of glass or stainless steel, cardboard cartons and even aluminium cans. The emphasis should be on the recyclability of the containers. At stake is the health not only of humans but also of the entire planet.