Does mechanical stress cause microplastic release from plastic water bottles?

Winkler, Anna; Santo, Nadia; Ortenzi, Marco Aldo; Bolzoni, Elisa; Bacchetta, Renato; Tremolada, Paolo

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2019.115082

Cited by 243 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Our examination shows that MP contamination is <1 MP L −1 until bottle capping. It is known that opening and closing of water bottles leads to abrasion from the bottlenecks and caps [10,37]. ATR-FTIR measurements of the cap sealings revealed that they were made from a PE-like material (see Figure 8), thus, we suspect that the PE particles detected were generated when opening the bottles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Sizes ranged from 11 to 642 µm, with 56% of particles in the size class 11−50 µm. The high share of PE particles most likely stems from abrasion of cap sealings generated when caps are twisted [10,37]. Particle concentrations rose from 489 MP L −1 to 2109 MP L −1 (Details in Figure S1), even though the caustic underwent regular sedimentation.…”

Section: Short Digression: Caustic Cleaning Solution Renewalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microplastics (MP, 1 µm-1 mm) are currently being studied extensively. MP have been found in various environments, but also in foodstuffs like seafood [1][2][3], salt [4,5], and drinking water, both from the tap and bottled [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From the Well to the Bottle: Identifying Sources of Microplastics in Mineral Water

Weißer

Beer

Hufnagl

et al. 2021

Water

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Microplastics (MP) have been detected in bottled mineral water across the world. Because only few MP particles have been reported in ground water-sourced drinking water, it is suspected that MP enter the water during bottle cleaning and filling. However, until today, MP entry paths were not revealed. For the first time, this study provides findings of MP from the well to the bottle including the bottle washing process. At four mineral water bottlers, five sample types were taken along the process: raw and deferrized water samples were filtered in situ; clean bottles were sampled right after they left the bottle washer and after filling and capping. Caustic cleaning solutions were sampled from bottle washers and MP particles isolated through enzymatic and chemical treatments. The samples were analyzed for eleven synthetic and natural polymer particles ≥11 µm with Fourier-transform infrared imaging and random decision forests. MP were present in all steps of mineral water bottling, with a sharp increase from <1 MP L−1 to 317 ± 257 MP L−1 attributed to bottle capping. As 81% of MP resembled the PE-based cap sealing material, abrasion from the sealings was identified as the main entry path for MP into bottled mineral water.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Short Digression: Caustic Cleaning Solution Renewalmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From the Well to the Bottle: Identifying Sources of Microplastics in Mineral Water

Weißer

Beer

Hufnagl

et al. 2021

Water

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“…through physical, chemical and biological degradation (Kundungal et al, 2019;Raddadi & Fava, 2019;Sánchez, 2019;Winkler et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in freshwater fishes: Occurrence, impacts and future perspectives

et al. 2021

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Microplastics (MPs) are small, plastic particles of various shapes, sizes and polymers.Although well studied in marine systems, their roles and importance in freshwater environments remain uncertain. Nevertheless, the restricted ranges and variable traits of freshwater fishes result in their communities being important receptors and strong bioindicators of MP pollution. Here, the current knowledge on MPs in freshwater fishes is synthesized, along with the development of recommendations for future research and sample processing. MPs are commonly ingested and passively taken up by numerous freshwater fishes, with ingestion patterns often related to individual traits (e.g. body size, trophic level) and environmental factors (e.g. local urbanization, habitat features). Controlled MP exposure studies highlight various effects on fish physiology, biochemistry and behaviour that are often complex, unpredictable, species-specific and nonlinear in respect of dose-response relationships.Egestion is typically rapid and effective, although particles of a particular shape and/ or size may remain, or translocate across the intestinal wall to other organs via the blood. Regarding future studies, there is a need to understand the interactions of MP pollution with other anthropogenic stressors (e.g. warming, eutrophication), with a concomitant requirement to increase the complexity of studies to enable impact assessment at population, community and ecosystem levels, and to determine whether there are consequences for processes, such as parasite transmission, where MPs could vector parasites or increase infection susceptibility. This knowledge will determine the extent to which MP pollution can be considered a major anthropogenic stressor of freshwaters in this era of global environmental change.

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“…For a week, five women and three men, ages 33 to 65, residing in Finland, Netherlands, Great Britain, Poland, Italy, Russia, Japan, and Austria, wrote down what they ate, the size of the plastic samples found in their stool varies from 50 to 500 micrometers, more or less the thickness of a hair. Currently assumed they were ingested through seafood that the volunteers consumed, but also from the water in plastic bottles, drinks, or food wrapped in plastic [7]. These products correspond to daily consumption and are in contact with water, the bad disposal of waste also causes large amounts of MPs to be poured into the sewer system [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics from degradation of tires in sewer networks of the city of Riobamba, Ecuador

Paredes

Viteri

Castillo

et al. 2020

Environmental Engineering Research

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Microplastics are small synthetic particles that come from petroleum derivatives, are difficult to degrade and their origin is found in industrial activity and domestic consumption, even in tires. The presence of small particles (0.1 µm to < 5 mm) of plasticizer Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and synthetic rubber, which due to their size and origin are called microplastics. The friction occurs between the asphalt in contact with the tires of cars generate the detachment of small residues of it, these residues come to contain a DEHP element. Simple residual water samples were carried out in the different sewage collectors in Riobamba city, 250 mL of each of these samples were filtered using vacuum suction equipment, to then examine the filters with a visual microscope. Obtaining as a result that 80% of the samples taken and analyzed in the laboratory contain the clear presence of DEHP plasticizer from the friction of tires (confirmed by the Principal Component Analysis) with the asphalting of the streets of the city of Riobamba, and that only 20% of the samples analyzed do not present DEHP plasticizer of this type, generating a medium risk for the health of humans and aquatic animals in the sector.

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Does mechanical stress cause microplastic release from plastic water bottles?

Cited by 243 publications

References 29 publications

From the Well to the Bottle: Identifying Sources of Microplastics in Mineral Water

From the Well to the Bottle: Identifying Sources of Microplastics in Mineral Water

Microplastics in freshwater fishes: Occurrence, impacts and future perspectives

Microplastics from degradation of tires in sewer networks of the city of Riobamba, Ecuador

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