I think microplastics are problem for oceans, but not for tap water. As usual drinking water treatment plants, which consumes surface water, have stages for suspended solids removal (coagulation, filtration, microfiltration, etc.). So, microplastics were removed with other suspended solids at this stage.

Dear Wong,

Your question is relevant and up-to-date. A survey conducted in several countries of the world shows that almost everywhere tap water is contaminated by microplastics. The study was carried out in 12 countries of the world and distributed by Orb Media: of the 159 samples of tap water analyzed, 83% contain micro-plastics. No continent is spared by this massive pollution, invisible to the naked eye. The most contaminated tap water is US water: 94% of the samples collected contained it. Europe is not spared either: 72% of these contain micro-plastics, with "on average 3.8 plastic fibers per liter of drinking water," says the Journal of the Environment. Scrubbing systems fail to remove all the residues in our wastewater. "A study launched in 2013 on the pollution of wastewater by plastic microfibres showed that a treatment plant stopped them at 90%," says Jean-François Loret, head of the Environment and Health department at the Suez Research Center . These particles return to the water cycle ... and are found in our taps. There is no miracle solution to this problem. It is necessary to adapt the treatment plants better.

With my best regards

Prof. Bachir ACHOUR

Prof. Bachir ACHOUR,

Really, it is surprising to know the microplastic contamination in tap water. You have provided an important information on tap water  quality. I think that  this issue is not much discussed.

......."A study launched in 2013 on the pollution of wastewater by plastic microfibres showed that a treatment plant stopped them at 90%,"  

- So problem invites research for improved technology.

I like to know - What are the health effects of consuming microplastic contaminated water? Is there any standard guide line value?

- Regards

Dear Asit,

I was delighted to read you. This is a real problem that has just been submitted by our colleague Wong. We do not yet know exactly the effect of micro-plastics on human health. That is why we should apply the precautionary principle and intensify the research so that we can discover the real risks. However, it can be assumed that ingestion of micro-plastics in our body is not trivial: many studies have already shown the harmful effects of plastics on animals, especially fish. However, there are no contraindications for the consumption of tap water. It is always preferable, from an ecological and economic point of view, to prefer tap water to bottled water. However, it is better to pass it beforehand in a carafe filtering to eliminate any residues. Another question remains unanswered: where do these micro-plastics come from? Several assumptions can be made: microbeads of cosmetics, synthetic fibers of clothes during machine washing, dust from paints, microparticles from vehicles or decaying plastics in aquatic environments.

With my best regards

Prof. Bachir ACHOUR

Dear all,

I'm currently working on wastewater treatment, and there is a term "emerging contaminant (EE)/contaminants of emerging concerns" in this field, which can be defined as "contaminants which have been in the environment for a while but for which concerns have been raised much more recently" (Chemistry Central Journal 8 (1) (2014)15), and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPcPs) are few of the emerging contaminants being studied. 

Now given that microplastics exists everywhere around us (tap water, marine animals etc) (please check link below), most people may have consumed microplastics without knowing it. Thus, microplastics could be the next EE that requires extensive studies. I also agree that  researchers need to find out the potential health effects of microplastics on human body. (After all, most materials have their properties changed at micrometer and nanometer scale). It is also vital to research on methods to eliminate it from drinking water (if 100% elimination in wastewater treatment plants is not possible). Thus, all ideas on these discussed issues are welcomed.

Best Regards.

https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_plastics

Waste-water treatment plant (WTP) discharge is crude and ineffective relative to the removal of most endocrine system disruptors and micro-plastics.  The concentration levels of these contaminants is low and for the most part their effects on humans are little understood, but what is known, particularly in the field of the endocrine disruptor effects on fish, is worrisome and argues for the need for large scale research and possibly a paradigm change in the way we "final polish" the water that leaves a WTP.  The new "final polish" method that evolves should be designed to remove or detoxify all entrained contaminant substances, micro-plastics included. The area of research that I've described as needed is so potentially significant to the health and welfare of homo-sapiens that we as a scientific community need to confer and, as appropriate (and I for one believe it to be appropriate), raise the alarm that the endocrine-plastics contaminant loads in our WTP discharge streams are a clear and present danger that has potentially species altering effects, none of which at present appear to be beneficial.  To all that endeavor in the WTP field, keep digging for the truth and create the awareness sufficient to move the funding needle both better define the problem and, as appropriate, define new, effective, "WTP discharge final polishing solutions."      

hello

this link could help

https://stateofgreen.com/en/profiles/danish-wastewater-equipment/news/the-technology-to-remove-microplastics-is-here-ready-and-available

Hello everyone, I am doing a research podcast on this particular topic. If you could please answer the following:

What are some practical solutions for consumers? Are there any water filters out there that could resolve this? Would reverse osmosis work?

Although there hasn't been any scientific research done on humans, there's been studies done on ocean life, wouldn't continued toxins in the human body cause serious health issues, like cancer etc?

Again, for practical purposes, would a liver detox help alleviate the impact of these toxins in humans?

Dear Luing,

Now researchers have to focus to establish treatment techniques as the

MPs detection is developed in satisfactory level. For the better knowledge remove microplastics from drinking water please see the recent published paper

Please find attachment

https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1X6V5,ashq7Sx

Best Regards

Krishna

The article "Microplastics pollution in different aquatic environments and biota: A review of recent studies"

A good review on microplastics pollution. This will boost researchers for further research on MPs. Regards

Several studies have discovered the health detriments as endocrine disruptors including causing birth defects, infertility, and cancer:

Hokanson, R., Hanneman, W., Hennessey, M., Donnelly, K. C., McDonald, T., Chowdhary, R., & Busbee, D. L. (2006).

DEHP, bis(2)-ethylhexyl phthalate, alters gene expression in human cells: possible correlation with initiation

of fetal developmental abnormalities. Human & Experimental Toxicology, 25(12), 687-695

Konieczna, A., Rutkowska, A., & Rachoń, D. (2015). Health risk of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA). Roczniki

Panstwowego Zakladu Higieny, 66(1), 5-11.

Perkin Elmer was discussing in one of their webinars the detection of microplastics in water samples, using their modern IR instrument. You can search it by google or through their website.

I came across this article:

Microplastics in Rivers and the Marine Environment: Detection and Identification using ATR-IR and Automated IR Microspectroscopy

@Ces vicente Almeda - Is it a published article?

The following article discussed about the microplastics analysis using focal plane array (FPA) FTIR microscopy and image analysis. The article is useful.

Article An automated approach for microplastics analysis using focal...

You can remove microplastics from drinking water , if you store the water in copper vessel , as copper is an unstable metal it will attract all the plastic from the water ...you need to keep the copper plate or copper rod at least for 8hrs (overnight) and wash the copper with lemon/tamrind/vinegar every other day ...You can also build rainwater harvesting method by adding natural filters , limestone , clay , sand so it sucks out impurites in water and adds natural minerals to the water and removes pollutants.

Coag-Floc polymer aided micro- and nano-bubble flotation should be a way to collect and discharge micro-plastics. I don't know that it's been done as yet. The proposed treatment would most likely require the full water volume to be infused with mechanically generated micro-, nano- and pico-bubbles. The So. African "Abrimix," a super-efficient very fine mineral particle flotation tool, would enable the bubbles to be generated concurrent with the mixing of coagulant into the feed water (the coagulant will alter the zeta-potential of the particle to abet bubble-particle attraction). Post Abrimix exposure a floc would be added to entrain bubbles and particles for lifting to the surface in a column flotation cell (bubble creation usually effected at 3 Bar, 45 psi). In mining these systems are run continuously; the coag consumption is typically the big cost, but low suspended solids, micro-plastic burdened, water the overall treatment charge for electricity and chemicals might be as low as a few US cents/m3.

Microplasticscan easilyremove bnby filtering technology with different mesh size

@ Ganesh

THat copper thing sounds interesting.

Well,

Confirmed Nagalakshmi Radhakrishnan's answer.

One of the filtration type in the attached figure can be used.

Regards