To the Editor:

240,000 plastic fragments found in a liter (1.06 quarts) of plastic bottled water! David Muir mentioned this on his Wednesday January 10, 2024 ABC broadcast!

I needed to know more and share my interpretation below of what I found.

Key points about nanoplastics:

1. Average of 240,000 very small plastic particles in a liter (1.06 quarts) of bottled water.

2. Sources were the plastic bottle itself and filters designed to purify the water, not the water.

3. Nanoplastic particles can get into the human bloodstream, absorbed into our cells, and cross the blood-brain barrier.

4. Nanoplastic particles have been found in people’s hearts, lungs, blood and in placentas.

5. More extensive research on animals suggests a strong, negative influence on health. Microplastics interfere with development, reproductive ability and health, gut health, hormone levels, immune responses, the heart and more.

Critics say not to be concerned about plastic particles in bottled water:

1. Not enough evidence of a health risk.

2. Not enough research to determine a safe level of exposure.

3. Keep drinking bottled water until the impact on the human body is better defined.

4. Bottled water is far from the only source of plastic pollution entering human bodies.

5. Reports like this unnecessarily scare consumers.

6. Toxicology of small plastic particles is in its infancy and consumers should not pay too much attention to the findings.

Researchers at Columbia and Rutgers recently found an average of 240,000 plastic fragments in plastic bottles of water, predominantly nanoplastic particles less than one micrometer in size (human hair is about 70 micrometers thick.) The smaller things are, the more easily they can get inside us.

The World Health Organization noted there’s not enough evidence to conclude that microplastics in drinking water pose a risk to human health but did conclude that it considered plastic pollution to be a serious problem that is made worse by the lack of evidence.

What should we do if we are worried about water in plastic bottles?

Recommendations include:

1. Water from the tap may well be safer.

2. Use containers and reusable bottles made from metal or glass.

3. Minimize or eliminate the use of plastic water bottles.

The more you know!

Steve Bennett

Newtown