One litre of bottled water contains 250,000 invisible plastic particles

Most of these are nanoparticles which have the potential to penetrate human cells and gain entry into bloodstream and major organs.

A new study found people are consuming a quarter million of tiny invisible pieces of plastic with every litre of bottled water - 10-100 times more than previously estimated.

One litre of water in a plastic bottle was found to contain an average of 240,000 particles, research published on Monday showed. Most of these are nanoparticles which have the potential to penetrate human cells and gain entry into the bloodstream and major organs.

The groundbreaking findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, show the extent of plastic in bottled water which was highly undervalued in previous studies.

While microplastics have been found everywhere from the deepest points in the ocean to inside our bodies from as early as birth, each bottle was earlier believed to contain only 325 pieces on an average.

But this new study by researchers from Columbia shows the presence of plastic particles is approximately a hundred times more than that, challenging the previously accepted norms surrounding bottled water safety.

Most of these particles were coming from the bottle itself, according to the authors. These are particles that are less than a micron in size.

Researchers used five samples from three brands of bottled water in the US and found that plastic particle levels ranged from 110,000 to 400,000 per litre, averaging at around 240,000 from seven types of plastics.

The authors declined to mention which brands were used as samples.

Approximately 90 per cent of these particles were identified as nanoplastics and the rest were microplastics. Nanoparticles are less than one-seventieth the width of a human hair, so tiny they cannot be seen under a microscope.

Researchers had to invent a technology to quantify these tiny particles to be able to count and analyze the chemical structure of nanoparticles in bottled water.

While scientists knew nanoplastics existed in bottled water, Naixin Qian, a PhD student in chemistry at Columbia and the first author of the new paper said "before our study, people didn't have a precise number of how many".

Previous studies showed nanoparticles of plastics can enter cells and tissues in major organs, move through the bloodstream and spread potentially harmful synthetic chemicals in the body, reaching the blood, liver, and brain.

While the potential impacts of these nanoparticles are known, researchers are not sure whether these findings make bottled water more dangerous.

"That's currently under review. We don't know if it's dangerous or how dangerous," said study co-author Phoebe Stapleton, a toxicologist at Rutgers.

"We do know that they are getting into the tissues (of mammals, including people) ... and the current research is looking at what they're doing in the cells," study co-author Ms Stapleton said.

https://www.sott.net/article/487684-One-litre-of-bottled-water-contains-250000-invisible-plastic-particles

The link between the massive drop in birth rates and mRNA vaccines is undeniable

Shouldn't the alarm bells be ringing? Why haven't the authorities long since swung into action to assure the public that a full independent public investigation is well underway?

To a critical ear, the silence is as deafening as it is worrying. 

After 11 months of official reports of a sustained fall in the birth rate, the Swedish mainstream media have reacted. However, news reports omit any reference to a possible involvement of the elephant in the room: mRNA vaccines. So, what is the evidence that we should all have an opportunity to consider?

Full article: https://www.sott.net/article/476601-The-link-between-the-massive-drop-in-birth-rates-and-mRNA-vaccines-is-undeniable

also: 

Daily chemicals that are severely disrupting your hormones

Microplastics found in human veins

Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodged deep in the lungs of living people for the first time

 https://www.sott.net/article/466557-Microplastics-found-deep-in-lungs-of-living-people-for-first-time

Particles discovered in tissue of 11 out of 13 patients undergoing surgery, with polypropylene and PET most common

Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodged deep in the lungs of living people for the first time. The particles were found in almost all the samples analysed.

The scientists said microplastic pollution was now ubiquitous across the planet, making human exposure unavoidable and meaning "there is an increasing concern regarding the hazards" to health.

Samples were taken from tissue removed from 13 patients undergoing surgery and microplastics were found in 11 cases. The most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles. Two previous studies had found microplastics at similarly high rates in lung tissue taken during autopsies.

People were already known to breathe in the tiny particles, as well as consuming them via food and water. Workers exposed to high levels of microplastics are also known to have developed disease.

Microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time in March, showing the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.

Full article: https://www.sott.net/article/466557-Microplastics-found-deep-in-lungs-of-living-people-for-first-time

Microplastics found in human blood

Scientists have discovered microplastics in human blood for the first time, warning that the ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs.

The tiny pieces of mostly invisible plastic have already been found almost everywhere else on Earth, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains as well as in the air, soil and food chain.

A Dutch study published in the Environment International journal on Thursday examined blood samples from 22 anonymous, healthy volunteers and found microplastics in nearly 80 percent of them.

Half of the blood samples showed traces of PET plastic, widely used to make drink bottles, while more than a third had polystyrene, used for disposable food containers and many other products.

Full Article: https://www.sott.net/article/465937-Microplastics-found-in-blood-for-the-first-time

Plastic particles falling out of sky with snow in the Arctic

Plastic particles falling out of sky with snow in the Arctic -- Earth Changes

Even in the Arctic, microscopic particles of plastic are falling out of the sky with snow, a study has found.

The scientists said they were shocked by the sheer number of particles they found: more than 10,000 of them per litre in the Arctic.

It means that even there, people are likely to be breathing in microplastics from the air - though the health implications remain unclear.

The region is often seen as one of the world's last pristine environments.

'Sad surprise': Amazon fish contaminated by plastic particles

Scientists in Brazil find first evidence of plastic pollution in Amazon basin freshwater fish

Scientists have found the first evidence of plastic contamination in freshwater fish in the Amazon, highlighting the extent to which bags, bottles and other waste dumped in rivers is affecting the world’s wildlife.

Tests on the stomach contents of fish in Brazil’s Xingu River, one of the major tributaries of the Amazon, revealed plastic particles in more than 80% of the species examined, including the omnivorous parrot pacu, herbivorous redhook silver dollar, and meat-eating red-bellied piranha.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/16/sad-surprise-amazon-fish-contaminated-by-plastic-particles

There are plastics and then the chemicals that are added to them

Environmental epidemiologist: We are guinea pigs in a worldwide experiment on microplastics

Microplastics, microplastics everywhere

One of the main problems with plastics is that although we may only need them fleetingly - seconds in the case of microbeads in personal care products, or minutes as in plastic grocery bags - they stick around for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, much of this plastic ends up as environmental pollution.

As for human exposure, no direct studies have been conducted but microplastics have been found in virtually all bodies of water on the planet, and on agricultural lands. They have been found in shellfish, sea salt, honey, beer, tap water, bottled water, and even air. Thus, ingestion and inhalation of microplastics are of concern as routes of exposure.

The plastic inside us

What does plastic in tap water mean for human health, how did it get there, and what can people do about it? We went looking for answers in a ten-month investigation across six continents.

orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_plastics

It is everywhere: the most enduring, insidious, and intimate product in the world.

Future of the Sea report: Ocean plastic projected to triple within seven years -- Earth Changes

Future of the Sea report: Ocean plastic projected to triple within seven years -- Earth Changes

If we don't act now, plastic pollution in the world's oceans is projected to increase three-fold within seven years, according to a startling new report.

The Future of the Sea report, released Wednesday for the UK government, found that human beings across the globe produce more than 300 million metric tons of plastic per year. Unfortunately, a lot of that material ends up in our waters, with the total amount of plastic debris in the sea predicted to increase from 50 million metric tons in 2015 to 150 million metric tons by 2025.

Roughly 70 percent of all marine litter is plastic, and the effect of this non-biodegradable waste can be devastating for marine biodiversity.

"There is extensive evidence that entanglement in, or ingestion of, plastics can cause injury and death to a wide range of marine organisms, including commercially important fish and shellfish," the report says.

The report also warns about the prevalence of microplastics and other tiny plastic debris in the ocean. "Plastic does not decompose, instead breaking down into ever smaller pieces," it states. "The full effects are not understood, but there is growing evidence of plastic harming sea creatures and restricting their movement, as well as polluting beaches."

Study reveals worrying levels of microplastics in Atlantic deep sea fish

Study reveals worrying levels of microplastics in Atlantic deep sea fish -- Earth Changes

A new Irish study has found that the rate of ingestion of microplastics by deepwater fish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean is among the highest in the world.

Australian researchers: 'We found evidence of microplastics pretty much everywhere we looked' -- Earth Changes

Australian researchers: 'We found evidence of microplastics pretty much everywhere we looked'

We are rapidly approaching an environmental catastrophe: Plastic waste in the ocean will outnumber fish by 2050 -- Earth Changes

We are rapidly approaching an environmental catastrophe: Plastic waste in the ocean will outnumber fish by 2050

The report states that every year "at least 8m tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean - which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050. In a business-as-usual scenario, the ocean is expected to contain one tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish by 2025, and by 2050, more plastics than fish [by weight]."

This scenario isn't only horrifying from an aesthetic point of view, the environmental impact has far-reaching ramifications. Think bisphenol A (BPA), DDT, PCBs — three exceptionally toxic chemicals present in plastic. BPA causes a number of disorders, including cancer, diabetes, infertility and obesity. DDT is linked with cancer, miscarriages, low birth weight, male infertility, developmental delay, nervous system and liver damage. PCBs also contribute to cancer and are linked with disorders of the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems.

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