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Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

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Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#161

Post by armitron »

outworlder wrote: post #150
armitron wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bottles themselves are suspicious and have been implicated [1]. All plastics have been found to leech chemicals, including PET [2] which is used for bottled water. If you think that in a typical warehouse or storage facility (before it hits a supermarket or sales point), bottled water is never refrigerated and that the temperatures it is exposed to are very frequently 'extreme', it should come as no surprise that…

> and basically treat all chemicals as safe unless proven otherwise. Shouldn't that be always the case? 'Chemicals' permutations are countless. You and I are a bag of "chemicals", and most of them, even if naturally occurring, are harmful depending on dosage.

There's a difference of degree and a difference of kind.

In Europe, there are standards and tests that are performed before something is deemed to be "safe" enough to be sold to the public. Look at the supplements industry in Europe for instance where there is a standard of proof to be met and contrast to the supplements industry in the USA where anything goes [5]. It is not a coincidence that the contaminated supply of valsartan was discovered in Europe [1].

In the US there are - usually- no standards and for the vast majority of consumables, no tests done. Even for highly sensitive chemicals (e.g. marketed to the baby market), the FDA is visibly in the pockets of big corporations and - when forced to act - is moving at a snail's pace. It is depressing to see the FDA capitulating to the lobbyists [2] until the mountain of evidence grows to the point where it commands attention. Even then, it can be ignored [3] [4].

[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-12/how-carci...

[2] https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certi...

[3] https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/fda-still-hasn...

[4] https://www.consumerreports.org/arsenic-in-food/fda-has-know...

[5] From https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/whats-in-your-chil...

"Europe has banned many phthalates from use in plastics that come into contact with fatty foods, including baby food, but the FDA allows the use of many phthalates in such materials and classifies them as indirect food additives."

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#162

Post by geggam »

sarnowski wrote: post #57
afiori wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In at least a couple of European countries it is well known that unless your city has specific problems tap water is better than bottled water. The reason being that (except some cases of corruption...) legal limit are much stricter for tap water. Better in impurities at the very least, the taste is usually quite worse.

Living in Germany/Berlin and can confirm. Our tap water is excellent and is way cleaner than all bottled water you can buy. Keep in mind, bottled water is also kept around way longer and has the time to „breed“. In tests, the tap water is consistently less contaminated. I recommend everyone to just stick to it. As an anecdote: you can let your tap water be tested for free if you have a newborn to ensure and confirm t…

Having spent 5 months in Germany recently I can say without a doubt the entire food chain in that nation is something I miss. Tap water tasted great and the food was super high quality.

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#164

Post by SamReidHughes »

fireattack wrote: post #148
onion2k wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bottled water is produced close to where it's sold. The issue is in countries where the water bottling plant takes up lots of the available local water so the poorer citizens can't access it, and they can't afford the bottled water either. This means they don't have access to any clean water. One of Nestle's recent CEOs actually went on record to say say he didn't believe access to clean water should be a human r…

Can't access what, tap water? That sounds more like a problem of the local government than factories of bottled water. >he didn't believe access to clean water should be a human right Depends on the definition of "human right". You still pay for even the tap water in your home after all.

One might argue that being allowed to dig a well on your land for drinking water is a human right. Clean water was once the natural order of things.

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#165

Post by reaperducer »

Reason077 wrote: post #147
onion2k wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bottled water is produced close to where it's sold. The issue is in countries where the water bottling plant takes up lots of the available local water so the poorer citizens can't access it, and they can't afford the bottled water either. This means they don't have access to any clean water. One of Nestle's recent CEOs actually went on record to say say he didn't believe access to clean water should be a human r…

> "The bottled water is produced close to where it's sold." Well, not always. Premium brands are often shipped long distances. Evian, Fiji water, etc...

I've seen New York City municipal water sold in supermarkets on the west coast. The brand was something clever like NYC2O.

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#166

Post by SubuSS »

lottin wrote: post #130
thisisnico wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Living in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, I can confirm that our water is extremely clean and good to drink. Additionally our city was rated one of the best tasting tap waters for all of Ontario, cities literally compete for quality water. Contrast that to Flint michigan across the river from me.

Best tasting or least tasting? (Since water is tasteless...)

You should try tasting distilled water and see for yourself if water is tasteless :). The tastelessness makes it pretty hard to drink.

Pure water is tasteless - the one we drink has a bunch of stuff.

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#167

Post by quakeguy »

dangrover wrote: post #73
galangalalgol wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a good point, and I agree and would add cars, hammers, sodas, and bread mold. But acrylamide studies are all based on rat models to date. Human studies have not shown the same impact. We have been cooking food a long time and it would not surprise me if we have stumbled on and kept a mutation that makes it safe.

What's wrong with hammers?

Nothing, buts what's wrong with your thumb? /s

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#168

Post by thatcat »

Reason077 wrote: post #160
slowmovintarget wrote: post #25

Went looking to see what the comparison to tap water was: > Orb found on average there were 10.4 particles of plastic per litre that were 100 microns (0.10 mm) or bigger. This is double the level of microplastics in the tap water tested from more than a dozen countries across five continents, examined in a 2017 study by Orb that looked at similar-sized plastics. Worse... it's worse than tap water.

> "Worse... it's worse than tap water." Considering the bottles are made of plastic, it would be surprising if they contained less plastic particles than tap water. What would be interesting is if glass bottled water contained a similar number of plastic particles, because that would suggest a different source of contamination.

No, bottled is ro filtered and should be clean of particles over .001 mm.

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#169

Post by RcouF1uZ4gsC »

linuxftw wrote: post #155
longtom wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A link has been found to some household chemicals (diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB153)) affecting dogs: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fertility-problems...

The world is full of chemicals right now. One day, humanity will look back at the last 100 years (and probably the next 50) and wonder what we were thinking.

Maybe, but I would have preferred to live in the last 100 years, than at any other time in the past.

Despite all those chemicals, we have had longer life expectancies, better quality of life, and less suffering.

Re: Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

#170

Post by yumraj »

windexh8er wrote: post #28
yumraj wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't include Kirkland, the Costco brand :(

I have family that buys the Costco brand and of many of the plastics it seems very thin / flimsy compared to some of the more expensive brands. I'd be surprised if it weren't comparable to some of the higher leaching bottles just based on feel and cost. I've always been curious about plastic milk containers vs Tetra Paks as well. Beyond bottled water there are so many other liquids consumed out of plastics I feel as…

Is there evidence that a thin plastic bottle would leech more?

I thought the transition to thin plastic was partly due to increase crushability of the bottles and to reduce plastic use. Though that can also be considered as marketing speak.

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