The occurrence and dietary intake related to the presence of microplastics in drinking water in Saudi Arabia

Almaiman, Lama; Aljomah, Alaa; Bineid, Mohammed; Aljeldah, Futoon M; Aldawsari, Fahad S.; Liebmann, B.; Lomako, Ievgeniia; Sexlinger, Katharina; Alarfaj, Rashed

doi:10.1007/s10661-021-09132-9

Cited by 85 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Primary MPs in the environment can originate from sources such as pellet spillage from air blasting machines or microbeads in facial cleansers ( Auta et al, 2017 ), whereas secondary MPs can have numerous sources, such as agricultural plastic films, synthetic rubber debris from tires, or fibers shed from electric clothes dryers ( Xu et al, 2020 ). Microplastic particles have been detected in wide range of environments such as marine water, freshwater ( Rodrigues et al, 2018 ), agroecosystems ( Ng et al, 2018 ), terrestrial systems ( Rillig, 2012 ), food and drinking water ( Smith et al, 2018 ; Almaiman et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestion of Microplastic Fibres, But Not Microplastic Beads, Impacts Growth Rates in the Tropical House Cricket Gryllodes Sigillatus

et al. 2022

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Microplastic is a growing concern as an environmental contaminant as it is ubiquitous in our ecosystems. Microplastics are present in terrestrial environments, yet the majority of studies have focused on the adverse effects of microplastics on aquatic biota. We hypothesized that microplastic ingestion by a terrestrial insect would have localized effects on gut health and nutrient absorption, such that prolonged dietary microplastic exposure would impact growth rate and adult body size. We further hypothesized that plastic form (fibres vs. beads) would influence these effects because of the nature of gut-plastic interactions. Freshly hatched tropical house crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) were fed a standard diet containing different concentrations of either fluorescent polyethylene microplastic beads (75–105 μm), or untreated polyethylene terephthalate microfibers (< 5 mm) until they died or reached adulthood (approximately 8 weeks). Weight and body length were measured weekly and microplastic ingestion was confirmed through fluorescence microscopy and visual inspection of the frass. While, to our surprise, we found no effect of polyethylene bead ingestion on growth rate or final body size of G. sigillatus, females experienced a reduction in size and weight when fed high concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate microfibers. These results suggest that high concentrations of polyethylene beads of the 100 μm size range can pass through the cricket gut without a substantial negative effect on their growth and development time, but high concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate microfibers cannot. Although we report the negative effects of microplastic ingestion on the growth of G. sigillatus, it remains uncertain what threats microplastics pose to terrestrial insects.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ingestion of Microplastic Fibres, But Not Microplastic Beads, Impacts Growth Rates in the Tropical House Cricket Gryllodes Sigillatus

et al. 2022

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“…In 2019, however, Stock et al affirmed that their results suggested that the oral exposure to PS microplastic particles did not pose acute health risks to mammals, as the data from in-vivo studies did not provide any evidence of histologically detectable adverse effects [100]. In the same way, more recently, Almaiman et al reported that the exposure to MPs from drinking water did not pose any concern to consumers in Saudi Arabia due to the low level of dietary intake of MPs from drinking water [84].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…In Saudi Arabia, given a mean average recommended water intake of 3.7 and 2.7 L per day for men and women, respectively, the corresponding daily exposure to MPs would be 0.1-0.2 particles/Kg bw. This estimated dietary exposure for high consumers of water increases to a daily exposure of 1.7-1.9 particles/Kg bw based on the WHO recommended intake for drinking water in hot climates [84].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics as Emerging Food Contaminants: A Challenge for Food Safety

Rubio

Alejandro-Vega

Paz-Montelongo

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Microplastics (MPs) have been identified as emerging environmental pollutants classified as primary or secondary based on their source. Composition, shape, size, and colour, among other characteristics, are associated with their capacity to access the food chain and their risks. While the environmental impact of MPs has received much attention, the risks for humans derived from their dietary exposure have not been yet assessed. Several institutions and researchers support that the current knowledge does not supply solid data to complete a solid risk characterization of dietary MPs. The aim of this paper is to review the current knowledge about MPs in foods and to discuss the challenges and gaps for a risk analysis. The presence of MPs in food and beverages has been worldwide observed, but most authors considered the current data to be not only insufficient but of questionable quality mainly because of the outstanding lack of consensus about a standardized quantifying method and a unified nomenclature. Drinking water, crustaceans/molluscs, fish, and salt have been identified as relevant dietary sources of MPs for humans by most published studies. The hazard characterization presents several gaps concerning the knowledge of the toxicokinetic, toxicodynamic, and toxicity of MPs in humans that impede the estimation of food safety standards based on risk. This review provides a tentative exposure assessment based on the levels of MPs published for drinking water, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, and salt and using the mean European dietary consumption estimates. The intake of 2 L/day of water, 70.68 g/day of crustaceans/molluscs, 70.68 g/day of fish, and 9.4 g/day of salt would generate a maximum exposure to 33,626, 212.04, 409.94 and 6.40 particles of MPs/day, respectively. The inexistence of reference values to evaluate the MPs dietary intake prevents the dietary MPs risk characterization and therefore the management of this risk. Scientists and Food Safety Authorities face several challenges but also opportunities associated to the occurrence of MPs in foods. More research on the MPs characterization and exposure is needed bearing in mind that any future risk assessment report should involve a total diet perspective.

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“…Raw and treated drinking water can be sampled for MPs in different ways. The simple one is to take a conventional grab sample in glass [26,43,59,60,63,64,67] , aluminum [44] , stainless steel [56] , or even high-density polyethylene (HDPE) [58,66] bottles and process them in a laboratory. This is appropriate for volumes between 1 and 25 L. If a higher water volume is needed (> 50 L), grab samples could be immediately passed through a stainless steel wire mesh of different sizes, and then reduced volume samples are taken to the laboratory [45] .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in water, from treatment process to drinking water: analytical methods and potential health effects

Picó¹,

Manzoor²,

Soursou³

et al. 2022

Water Emerg Contam Nanoplastics

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Aim: The commonly used analytical methods for microplastic (MPs) detection in drinking water and the threat of MP pollution in water intended for human consumption to human beings are presented through a systematic review. Furthermore, MP occurrence, transport, and fate from raw to treated drinking water, tap water, and bottled water, as well as the possible health impacts of MPs on human beings, are also evaluated. Methods: Systematic review included articles published in scientific journals that contain specific keywords in the title and were searched in Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus. The literature was selected and extracted by two reviewers based on the PRISMA-A guidelines, which recommend including 57 items. Results: The experimental studies pointed out that sampling is performed using grab or reduced samples, and sample treatment involves mostly oxidation with hydrogen peroxide and density separation. The minimum sample size obtainable in the extraction and the maximum density of the polymer separable from the matrix provided different results. Clearly, the determination of MPs involves the simultaneous application of several analytical techniques, including optical, fluorescence, and electronic microscopies, µFTIR, µ-Raman, and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The determination technique also provides different results according to the sensitivity as well as the minimum size determinable. These studies are mostly devoted to establishing the occurrence, transport, and fate within the supply network, the efficiency in removal of MPs from drinking water by treatment plants, and the risk to humans. The MP concentration in drinking water reservoirs is highly variable. However, tap water always presents lower concentrations of MPs than the water that enters the drinking water treatment plants because the different treatments are efficient at removing MPs. Although it has not been fully demonstrated that MPs are toxic to humans, the effects point to oxidative stress, gastrointestinal irritation, microbiome irregularities, and changes in lipid metabolism. Conclusion: Analytical methods present some common features as a first step towards harmonization. However, it is still unknown whether the analytical methods could influence the disparity of the results. The MP concentration in drinking water is low in comparison to other types of water. MPs are not exempt from hazards to human health.

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The occurrence and dietary intake related to the presence of microplastics in drinking water in Saudi Arabia

Cited by 85 publications

References 41 publications

Ingestion of Microplastic Fibres, But Not Microplastic Beads, Impacts Growth Rates in the Tropical House Cricket Gryllodes Sigillatus

Ingestion of Microplastic Fibres, But Not Microplastic Beads, Impacts Growth Rates in the Tropical House Cricket Gryllodes Sigillatus

Microplastics as Emerging Food Contaminants: A Challenge for Food Safety

Microplastics in water, from treatment process to drinking water: analytical methods and potential health effects

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