Microplastics in Your Drinking Water: What You Should Know
As ongoing research continues to expand our knowledge base, updating our customers about trending air quality and water quality issues, and their potential health impacts, is part of our professional responsibility at Save Home Heat Company. We do our best to provide information in a clear, objective manner, summarizing the current opinions of a range of respected sources. If solutions are suggested by those sources, we pass along those recommendations, as well.
In all the services we provide at Save Home Heat, our approach is to inform our customers and answer their questions as fully as we can – and let them decide how they feel comfortable proceeding. In this post, our water quality team would like to discuss the topic of microplastics in drinking water, a healthy living topic that has gained increasing attention in 2024. Much of the information below is our summary of a World Health Organization (WHO) publication released in 2019, along with articles from the University of California and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) earlier this year, in 2024. In just barely five years, there appears to have been much learned in this relatively new branch of water quality research.
Why We’re Talking About Microplastics in Drinking Water
The story of microplastics began in the 1970s when scientists first noticed tiny plastic particles floating in the ocean. The term “microplastics” was coined in 2004 by researcher Richard Thompson. By that time, researchers were already tracking larger plastic debris in the ocean, including the infamous “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” discovered in the late 1990s. This discovery helped shine a spotlight on the growing problem of plastic pollution – and the breakdown of some of it into unseen, microscopic pollutants.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated there was no clear evidence linking microplastics to major health risks, and urged more research. Five years later, current findings seem to indicate that there is growing cause for concern. More on that, below.
What are Microplastics?
Microplastics are a broad category of tiny plastic particles, composed of various compounds and substances with different chemical properties. While there’s no universally agreed-upon definition, microplastics are often classified as particles smaller than 5 millimeters in length. Some argue that this definition and threshold is somewhat arbitrary, as the size of microplastic particles varies widely – many of the smaller particles are in the microscopic range and cannot be filtered by standard, accepted municipal treatment systems, while others closer to the 5 mm threshold can be filtered out.
Microplastics have been found in a broad range of concentrations in marine water, and also in wastewater, fresh water, food, air, and drinking water – both bottled and tap water.
It’s important to understand that we, meaning scientists and health researchers, are in the relatively early stages of learning about microplastics, from their sources to their potential short and long term health impacts.
Common Sources of Microplastics
It is believed that microplastics in our environment come from a variety of sources and different types of plastic. In many cases, they eventually break down and may enter our water and food supplies.
Some of the common sources of microplastics that break down and enter our environment include everyday items such as plastic water bottles, nonstick cookware, food storage containers, and synthetic textiles like polyester and nylon. Other sources include personal care products like exfoliants, cosmetics, and dental floss – and even tires, too. There’s plenty more examples, some of which are not currently required to be tested for. Unfortunately, PFAS chemicals have also entered this conversation.
Microplastics, in the form of degraded or degrading plastic products, may enter drinking water sources in a number of different ways: from surface run-off (such as after a rain event), a variety of wastewater sources, sewer overflows, industrial effluent, and even atmospheric depositing. Surface runoff and wastewater effluent are considered to be the two main sources for microplastics found in drinking water, but clear identification of their points of origin is still under investigation.
Nanoplastics: Very Tiny Particles, Even Bigger Concerns?
Nanoplastics are the even smaller particles that result from the breakdown of microplastics. Nanoplastics are defined as measuring less than 1 micron (one-thousandth of a millimeter) in size – far too small to be seen with the naked eye. Many of these microscopic particles are small enough to penetrate the body’s cells and tissues, which has raised heightened concerns about their potential health impacts.
Recent research, supported by the NIH, has applied an advanced imaging technique to detect nanoplastics in everyday products such as bottled water. For example, this technique revealed that a liter of bottled water contains, on average, around 240,000 plastic particles, with approximately 90% of them classified as nanoplastics. This groundbreaking study, published in January of 2024 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, marks a significant step in understanding the widespread presence of nanoplastics. The enhanced view of these minute particles afforded by this advancement will increase our understanding of human exposure to nanoplastics. Research is ongoing.
The Potential Health Impacts of Consuming Microplastics and Nanoplastics
The potential health risks of consuming microplastics are as yet undetermined. In 2019, the WHO released the following statement: “The potential hazards associated with microplastics come in three forms: physical particles, chemicals, and microbial pathogens as part of biofilms” [biofilms are microorganisms adhering to and congregating on surfaces]. “Based on the limited evidence available, chemicals and biofilms associated with microplastics in drinking water pose a low concern for human health. Although there is insufficient information to draw firm conclusions on the toxicity related to the physical hazard of plastic particles, particularly for the nano size particles, no reliable information suggests it is a concern.” This statement was released approximately five years ago. While taking a cautious, non-alarmist approach, it readily admits the lack of sufficient data at the time.
Fast-forward to 2024 and the NIH are still in the same boat, while now acknowledging that microplastics have been found in human blood, lungs, and gut, and even in the placenta and testes. The NIH noted that the effects of these tiny particles are still unknown, partly because they’re so small and difficult to study. This means that, while we are now identifying microplastic plastic particles inside of us, it’s still unknown what that might mean for our health and wellbeing. Our team at Save Home Heat does not find this news to be encouraging.
Another study in 2024, conducted by the University of California (UC), adds another layer to the conversation. This study points out that chemicals that are often found in microplastics – like BPA, phthalates, and PFAS – can mimic hormones in the body that help regulate metabolism, growth, and reproduction. According to UC, “Exposure to these substances has been shown to increase the risk of everything from infertility to poorer fetal development and cancer.” These conclusions from the University of California appear to throw significant red flags about the potential negative health impacts of consuming microplastics.
For the record, we’re forced to conclude that it’s still too early to say for certain if consuming microplastics and their even tinier cousins, nanoplastics, poses serious health risks. But the idea of plastic particles floating around in our bloodstreams and possibly entering our cells, especially with the added risk in some cases of potentially harmful chemicals – it doesn’t sit real well with us. While more research is absolutely needed, we lean toward urging caution and continuing to learn more as science makes further progress in this field of study.
Is Water Testing for Microplastics Available in Our Area?
In the Denver-Boulder/North Metro area, having your home’s water tested for the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics is currently a fairly costly proposition, with no local or regional laboratories yet offering this service. We anticipate changes to this situation, at some point. Our water quality team at Save Home Heat Company continues our search for more affordable, reliable testing facilities, and will keep our readers updated on any developments.
Recommended Solutions for Microplastics in Your Home’s Water
If, like many people, you share a growing concern about what’s in the water you consume, and plastics are on your list, here are some recommendations and suggestions on how you can help safeguard yourself and your family at home:
Reduce Exposure!
- Don’t microwave any plastic products (including baby bottles, even briefly!). Ceramic or glass is safer
- Avoid buying plastic water bottles
- Difficult as this sounds, stop using plastic food storage containers and water containers (glass, ceramic, and stainless steel are all better options)
- If you have small kids, it can be pretty difficult to get rid of plastic entirely, because that’s what you use to prevent accidents. Fortunately, there are new products coming out that are worth exploring, that give parents more options. If you do use plastic dishware, don’t put them in the microwave, and avoid high levels of heat when washing (handwashing these would probably be best)
- Consider reducing or eliminating your consumption of red meat. Many chemicals are known to hang out in fatty food, so making this change can help reduce your chemical exposure. In this recommendation, there’s the potential added climate benefit, too: Eating a more plant-based diet will yield a smaller personal carbon footprint – and can also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, as well!
- Buy organic products whenever feasible, and try eating ‘lower on the food chain,’ in general; more grains, fruits, and vegetables. Note: kids are very adaptable to diet changes, if you start ‘em at a young enough age
Filter Nanoplastics Out Of Your Home’s Water
While reducing exposure and avoiding products that are more likely to contain or create issues involving microplastics is a great strategy, if your concerns about microplastics and nanoplastics in your drinking or cooking water are not satisfactorily addressed by that approach, then it makes sense to consider a filtration system for your home’s water supply. Whether for point-of-use or whole-house applications, our water treatment team installs proven products that can filter microplastics out of your water. A variety of highly effective reverse-osmosis (RO) water filters, and whole-house products such as the PIONEER Pb from Enpress, will do the job.
Your Water Quality Experts in the Denver Metro, Boulder & North Metro Area
To learn more about the current state of microplastics and nanoplastics in water supplies, or to explore solutions that might be a good fit for you, your family, and your home, in the Denver-Boulder and North Metro Area, please reach out to our water quality specialists at Save Home Heat today. As with all the services we provide, visits from our friendly water quality team are highly informative and low-pressure, and any install quotes you request are provided at no charge, with zero obligation or sales hype.
A Complimentary Water Test!
In our service area, covering Ft. Collins and Loveland all the way down to Highlands Ranch, and even out east to Keenesberg, our water quality team is currently offering a complimentary water test for interested homeowners. While microplastics are not covered in these highly informative, zero sales hype, free in-home water tests, our staff Master Water Specialist can reliably test your water for hardness, TDS, pH, chlorine, fluoride, copper, iron, and nitrates. He can also answer any of your questions about home water quality and water treatment options, always in a friendly, low-pressure manner. Please give us a call if you’d like to learn more or get on his schedule.
In addition to water quality services, please keep Save Home Heat Company in mind for any of your home plumbing needs.
