Bombshell” with bottled waters – They contain large amounts of dangerous plastics
Large quantities of microplastics and nanoplastics are present in bottled waters, according to recent studies that “ring the alarm” for the revision of packaging rules for water and other materials.
Speaking to Dnews, the professor of Environmental Technology in the Chemistry Department of AUTH and president of the Association of Greek Chemists, Ioannis Katsogiannis, notes that according to these studies, “the largest percentage of nanoplastics and microplastics found in bottled waters comes from the bottle itself and not from the water itself. This indicates that we have an issue with the bottles. There is no legal precedent for a limit on the concentration of microplastics in a bottle of water, as there is no certified measurement of such organisms, but there is also no direct evidence linking microplastics to specific diseases. There are, of course, indications, and these indications…are based on statistics and studies. There is a study that states that in people who suffered from lung cancer, microplastics were found in the lung tissues in 97% of these cases. However, this is not direct evidence that microplastics cause lung cancer,” Mr. Katsogiannis specifically mentions.
There should be more studies to certify the issue of nanoplastics in bottled waters, but there are already many that certify such a thing.
The discussion on the topic has been ongoing for a long time. How is bottled water preserved? From bottling, this water goes to pallets, to warehouses, supermarkets, and kiosks, and then to the consumer. Can we know how it was preserved, if it was stored in a shady place, etc.? In any case, with bottled water, there is an issue that I believe the state – and not just in Greece – finds it difficult to fully control,” says Mr. Katsogiannis.
What do we do, though? What solution is there? Because, of course, we can’t stop drinking bottled water, and there’s no reason to yet. When it’s 40 degrees in Syntagma Square, we can’t not drink bottled water. Mr. Katsogiannis suggests installing relevant activated carbon filters in the taps.
At home, there are two things that people usually do. One is that they do not trust tap water. And I am talking about big cities. The drinking water is of very good quality. It is chlorinated and microbiologically safe and does not contain toxic metals, because systematic measurements are made. There is legislation, and it is adhered to. Therefore, what I recommend is an activated carbon filter with a stainless steel lid. This filter will eliminate 90% of the microplastics that the water may contain. Chlorine and particles are also removed, and we have very good drinking water,” he notes.
Also, the water we store in the fridge should not be in a plastic bottle, but in a glass one. We should not use the same plastic water bottle inside the car. We should throw away plastic bottles after use.
The bottles specify how they should be stored and under what conditions. However, this cannot be checked until it reaches the consumer.A long time ago, water and soft drinks were only available in glass packaging, and there are still some such packages. I think we need to return to that, along with incentives that the state will provide. Somehow we need to enter this process of depolymerization, in line with the European Union. The biggest problem at the moment, for which we are trying to find a way to address, is nanoplastics and PFAS,” says the president of the Association of Greek Chemists, even citing as an example what is happening with the plastic straws we use in Greece.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) include over 4,700 chemical substances and are a group of man-made substances that are widely used and accumulate over time in humans and the environment. These substances are also known as “forever chemicals” because they are extremely resistant when present in the environment and in organisms. They can cause health problems such as liver damage, thyroid disease, obesity, fertility issues, and cancer.
