Study finds microplastics present in some major bottled water brands

New research at the State University of New York at Fredonia led by Dr. Sherri Mason, a professor of chemistry and chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences found microscopic particles of plastic (microplastics) in nearly all major brands of bottled water.

The global study of 250 bottles from nine countries said their analysis found plastic “in bottle after bottle and brand after brand.” The tests found that there were typically 10 plastic particles per litre of bottled water. Each particle is larger than the width of a human hair.

Dr Mason was recently interviewed by a production crew from the London-headquartered public broadcaster, BBC, where the study was first reported. "It's not about pointing fingers at particular brands,” Dr. Mason said in the interview. “It's really showing that this is everywhere, that plastic has become such a pervasive material in our society, and it’s pervading water — all of these products that we consume at a very basic level."

Microbeads, particularly in beauty products also made headlines as a major source of microplastic pollution. The presence of microbeads in water was also discovered by Dr Mason in 2012, during a three-week course designed to study plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.

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