Presence and Quantification of Microplastic in Urban Tap-Water

Plastic pollution is a rapidly growing environmental and human health crisis, with no sign of improvement. Since 2012 the number of studies on plastic pollution has quadrupled, and macro to nano-size plastics have been documented even in the planet's remote biomes. Studies have shown contamination by microplastics (MPs) in various types of food consumed by humans, including seafood, honey, sugar, salt, tap-water and bottled water and beer. The study's objective was to detect the possible contamination by MPs in drinking water samples collected from the two main residential and commercial areas of Brasília. A total of 32 samples of tap water were collected, 16 samples in the south zone, and 16 samples in the north zone of the city (respectively, South Wing and North Wing). Samples were processed and transferred to the Sedgewick-Rafter counting cell chamber. The presence of MPs particles was analysed using a Nikon Eclipse fluorescence microscope. MPs were found in 100% of the samples. The mean MPs per 500 ml found in the South Wing area was 97, while the mean number of particles in the North Wing area was 219. The study results reveal a disturbing amount of MP particles in Brasilia's tap-water. This surprising number of particles in tap-water is especially concerning considering that tap-water is not the only source of MPs to which people are exposed. The cumulative and toxicological effect of this chronic exposure is alarming.

塑料污染是一场快速恶化的环境与人类健康危机，目前尚无改善迹象。自2012年以来，塑料污染相关研究的数量已增至原来的四倍，即便在地球上最偏远的生物群落中，也已记录到宏尺寸至纳米尺寸的塑料颗粒。研究已证实，人类食用的海鲜、蜂蜜、糖类、食盐、自来水、瓶装水及啤酒等多种食品中均存在微塑料（microplastics, MPs）污染。本研究旨在检测从巴西利亚两大主要居住与商业区采集的饮用水样本中是否存在微塑料污染。本次研究共采集32份自来水样本，其中该市南翼与北翼区域各采集16份。样本经处理后被转移至Sedgewick-Rafter沉降计数池（Sedgewick-Rafter counting cell chamber），使用尼康Eclipse荧光显微镜对微塑料颗粒的存在情况进行分析。所有样本中均检测到微塑料颗粒。南翼区域每500毫升样本中检出的微塑料平均数量为97个，而北翼区域的平均颗粒数为219个。本研究结果显示，巴西利亚自来水中的微塑料颗粒含量令人担忧。考虑到自来水并非人类暴露于微塑料的唯一途径，自来水中如此高的颗粒数量尤其令人不安。这种长期暴露所带来的累积效应与毒理学影响令人警觉。