Microplastics are literally on everyone’s lips and are now increasingly being detected in drinking water. How does this happen – and what can you do about it?
Polyethylene terephthalate in coffee, and a bottle of water with polypropylene after exercise? It doesn’t sound very appetizing, but it is unfortunately a reality. More and more studies show that plastics such as PET and PP in the form of microplastics not only end up in the sea, but also in our drinking water – both in tap water and in water from beverage cartons, glass and plastic bottles. In this article, you can find out what quantities are involved, how they come about and what water purifiers and each of us can do about it.
How do microplastics get into drinking water?
Microplastics dissolve when washing clothes or when car tires are rubbed off, are often found in cosmetics and ultimately end up in our waters. Fortunately, according to the Federal Environment Agency, only about 30 percent of our drinking water comes from lakes, dams, rivers or filtered surface water – the remaining 70 percent is groundwater and spring water. The deeper it has seeped through the various layers of soil and rock, the purer it is, because these work like a natural water filter that can also effectively hold back microplastics.
While coarser, porous rock performs worse in terms of filter function, sand and sandstone are an ideal barrier to remove even the smallest particles from the water. If microplastics are found in this water later, it may come from the pipes, lines and fittings with which the water comes into contact before it flows out of the tap – or from the plastic bottles or cardboard boxes in which it was filled .
Microplastics in drinking water: who cares?
Although some studies have now shown microplastics in both tap water and bottled water, the alarm bells have hardly been ringing. In 2018, for example, the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office Münsterland-Emscher-Lippe (CVUA-MEL) published study results from 38 mineral waters from reusable and non-returnable bottles, glass bottles and beverage cartons, according to which in all samples “small” (0.05-0.5 mm) and “Very small” (0.001-0.05 mm) microplastic was found. Results from the non-profit organization Orb Media also confirm the contamination: 93 percent of the water samples from all over the world – including those from Gerolsteiner, Evian and other brands available from us – contained plastic residues. And in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) evaluated a total of 50 studies in which microplastics were sometimes found in tap water.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an analysis of the health risks posed by microplastics in drinking water for the first time.
So far, there are no studies that clearly show whether the plastic is excreted from our body again without causing damage, according to the WHO. According to Orb Media, this is the case for around 90 percent of the microplastics consumed. But the remaining 10 percent are so tiny (0.11 millimeters and smaller) that they can theoretically get into our lymphatic system and blood. In marine animals, health impairments have already been found in connection with the ingestion of microplastics. However, since there are no corresponding health studies in humans, there are still no limit values for microplastics in the German Drinking Water Ordinance.
However, the EU level is currently working on appropriate guide values: By the beginning of 2022, the EU Commission is to draw up a list of substances and compounds in drinking water that are potentially harmful to health and must therefore be monitored. This also includes microplastics, the occurrence of which in drinking water will probably have to be monitored more closely from 2023. Regardless of this, the Drinking Water Ordinance means that tap water is one of the best controlled foods in Germany.
Can you filter microplastics out of drinking water?
With its natural filtering, nature already shows us that it is possible to remove even the smallest particles from the water. However, in nature nobody skims the plastic that has been filtered out, which is why it remains to be seen whether this will not impair the cleanability of the soil and rock layers in the long term. Even in water treatment plants, plastic particles can be removed from the water with the aid of the finest filters or membranes. This could be made easier by first stirring other substances into the water that the plastic will stick to. The resulting compounds are then skimmed off.
In order to bind microplastics in the water, the non-profit “Wasser 3.0 GmbH” has developed a quartz sand-based hybrid silica gel that combines the tiny particles into larger lumps, which then collect on the surface of the water. If you want to be on the safe side, you can install additional filters yourself, which can remove even the smallest particles with activated carbon, reverse osmosis or ion exchange. But be careful: these filters can germinate quickly, sometimes filter important minerals from the water and can be very expensive.
Tap water contains fewer microplastics than bottled or carton water
Anyone who drinks tap water instead of bottled water in bottles or boxes makes an important contribution to reducing the overall amount of plastic waste. A positive side effect: At the same time, you could also reduce your own microplastic intake. According to the Orb Media study contains about bottled water per liter an average of 10 plastic particleswhich have about the average of a human hair – that is twice as many as in tap water. In the case of bottled water, the researchers at CVUA-MEL found the highest microplastic concentrations in reusable PET bottles, which could indicate that the material becomes more porous over time and thus releases particles into the water. However, the study is not without controversy.
You can do this to reduce the amount of microplastic getting into the water
As always, the principle applies here: less is more. The less plastic you buy and the more meticulously you pay attention to its proper disposal, the less ends up in our environment and thus also in our drinking water. When buying cosmetics, make sure that they do not contain microplastics, prefer clothing made from natural fibers and – very important – drink tap water! There are also special filters, laundry balls and laundry bags for washing machines, with the help of which you can catch the microplastic that dissolves during washing and dispose of it in the garbage before it ends up in the wastewater.
Utopia says: Just fighting the symptoms does not help against the cause of the problem: It is also our responsibility to remove plastic, synthetic fibers and, above all, microplastics from our everyday lives as much as possible. And that’s easier than you might think! You can find tips for this in our articles “Microplastics: where it is hidden, how you can avoid it”, “12 tips on what you can do against microplastics” and “11 products with microplastics – and good alternatives”.
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