A simple way to get microplastics out of your water

[FakeNoose]

Archived (no paywall) link: https://archive.ph/BnyBU

Tiny plastic particles can seem alarmingly ubiquitous and nearly impossible to get rid of — they’ve been found in food, breast milk and even clouds. But new research suggests that a simple solution could reduce microplastics in drinking water: boiling it.

In a new paper published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, Zhanjun Li and Eddy Y. Zeng report that boiling and filtering water helped remove up to nearly 90 percent of the tiny plastic particles, which they write can be found in 129 of 159 tap water samples from 14 countries worldwide. The impact of consuming these tiny particles still is not well understood. A recent report from the World Health Organization noted a number of possible health risks posed by exposure to microplastics, but also said that more research needs to be done....

Why boiling water works to reduce microplastics
For their study, Li and Zeng, professors at Guangzhou Medical University and Jinan University, respectively, created simulated tap water with all of the commonly occurring minerals and chemicals — and microplastics. They wanted to understand whether simply boiling water would be effective at removing the tiny plastic particles.

What they found was dramatic — especially in “hard” water, or water with large concentrations of minerals like calcium and magnesium. At high enough temperatures, calcium carbonate (which is commonly found in tap water) will become solid, effectively encapsulating or “encrusting” the plastic particles, and making them easy to remove through a simple filter, such as a coffee filter.

- more at link -

Wow, this is encouraging!

[SarahD]

1. Stop buying plastic.

Buy things in glass or aluminum. Try to find bulk foods. Winnco has a nice bulk food section.

[Hekate]

2. Winnco has a nice bulk food section -- from which you remove items via plastic bags

[SarahD]

3. Which you can reuse.

[senseandsensibility]

10. We've been using reusable shopping bags for many

years now. They make some really good ones that have insulation which is great for the summer when we carry large quantities of ice cream home!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. Stop buying tires. They're the main culprit.

[ProfessorGAC]

11. It's Certainly A Problem

Different studies have resulted in different #1 titles.
But, tire remnants are near the top in every study.
I've seen up to 78% from tires.
Then, I saw a study that claimed synthetic fabrics were # 1, with tires at around 35%, but #2.
Another even had "dust" as #1, but in reading the article I dismissed it, because they don't make an effort to define where "dust" came from. But, in that study tires was #2 again.
So, while the exact number may be in dispute, it's clear that tires are a MAJOR contributor.

[amerikat]

4. I have a counter top water distiller.

Fill with tap water and turn it on. It boils the water then condenses the steam. Goes through a charcoal filter then into a glass jug. I use the water for cooking or drinking.

[usonian]

5. The technique requires "hard" water.

Boiling hard water that’s rich with minerals — such as calcium or magnesium — creates a chalk-like residue known as limescale, or calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which can trap the plastics.

That solid, chalky residue then had to be separated and removed from the water with a standard coffee filter or stainless steel filter, thereby removing NMPs.

The team found that the impact was greatest in harder water: In samples that had 300 milligrams of CaCO3, for example, nearly 90% of NMPs were removed.

In softer water samples with less than 60 mg of CaCO3, roughly 25% of NMPs were removed.

Tough for city people and those who bought water softeners. Go figure.

That limescale is evident on cookware, so I filter cooking water that comes from the well.

I don't expect microplastics to penetrate to the aquifer, which is about 1000 feet down.

[BigmanPigman]

6. I was told that San Diego has the worst case of this in the

entire US years ago when my apt building's hot water heater kept dying and needed costly replacements every few years. They said San Diego is the "test city" for the worst hard water since we are at the end of the line for the water from the Colorado River and by the time it gets to San Diego it is all minerals and shit. When I boil water in a pot there is so much crap at the bottom of my pot that I have to use Ajax to scrub it off.

My great uncle was an important research doctor in NYC and he told my grandmom that everything has plastic in it 30 years ago, especially all the plastic in food packaging. He died at the age of 93, but he was the youngest of his 3 siblings and the first to die. What I take from this is that there is so much plastic crap in our bodies at this point removing some plastics won't do much in improving a person's health in the long run. It is everywhere and in everything.

[Elessar Zappa]

8. I read somewhere

that we have enough microplastics in our body that if it were all gathered together it would be the size of a small bead. Not sure if that’s accurate, but if true, that’s scary.

[BigmanPigman]

9. I wouldn't be a bit surprised.