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Bottled water contains 100x more plastic nanoparticles than previously thought
- ImAnAmateur 3y agoAnd this is in addition to the regular known risk of plastic leeching into water over time as the water bottle breaks down or hot/freezing temperatures that can also cause the water bottle to break down. I spoke to a 70 year old co-worker yesterday. They talked about a time when plastic wasn't used anywhere beyond Saran Wrap. How much of our modern plastic use is youthful folly? I grew up with it being normal so I didn't question it. Changing away from it would be abnormal! I suspect there will be a sharp turn away from plastics in several years, but I can't really fathom what that will be to instead. Paper? Metals? Wax? Glass?
- slau 3y agoIt’s my understanding that the plastification of paper to make it waterproof is worse, ecologically speaking, than just using straight up plastic. How do we wrap all the dairy, meat, and whatnot at the grocery store? How was it done 100 years ago? Heck, how was this done 200 years ago?
- tcmart14 3y agoI always wondered if we would see hemp get seriously used here. Not a materials engineer, but the little bit I know about hemp, seems like it could be a good replacement.
- drtgh 3y agoAt the 80-90's all was returnable glass (In Europe at least). You bought the drinks, which were distributed in glass bottles (with stickers of the brand and everything. Like the actual plastic bottles), latter you returned the glass bottles to the store and they gave you money for it. One day started to be promoted Tetra Brik, whose interior is made of plastic. This coincided with a proliferation of large supermarkets, that burst in selling products cheaper than local neighborhood stores (the place were was returned the glass bottles). It was marketed at TV as super ecologic, better than the glass, and that it could be thrown in the bin. Plastic bottles for drinks were introduced immediately afterwards. The local neighborhood stores didn't survived the large supermarkets dumping, but at that time the plastic bottles was already introduced. EDIT: I have no clear when was introduced the aluminum cans, whose interior is plastic also.
- HackerThemAll 3y agoPlastic industry explosion is last 40 years. I think today almost nobody remembers Pepsi or Coca Cola in glass bottles. Suddenly it has become more expensive to wash bottles than to poison people and the planet. If you enter "pepsi" in image search then all it's there is plastic bottles or aluminum cans. Apart from "water producers" (sic!) the largest plastic-producing industry is kids' toys. Think all the guns, kiddie bikes, cars, dolls and a lot more. Plastic toys wrapped in plastic, breaking after 1 day, or a week, then thrown away. Or kids growing up and toys thrown away as well. Or parcel shipping. Even the smallest item sent wrapped in enormous amounts of stretch wrap with bubble wrap inside. Or theft protection: a micro SD card a size of nail wrapped in 20-cm long and thick plastic to prevent it being easily stolen. Governments around the world are more than happy to tolerate all that.
- dt3ft 3y agoI used to think “if there really was a God, why would he create cancer and cause fetal growth anomalies?”, and as I learn of all the things we created (plastic nanoparticles in drinking tap water in Sweden, for example), I can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t God who is to blame for cancer, but ourselves.
- theshackleford 3y agoWell given that humans actually exist as opposed to a fairy tale that does not, it’s a pretty easy swing as to who’s at fault here.
- ImAnAmateur 3y agoIf you don't like that philosophical abstraction then let me phrase it another way: "How much of our cancer rates and fetal anomalies are a natural result of our genes, and how much are they a result of things we humans have done to our environment?"
- rtsil 3y agoIf you believe in an all-powerful God, it follows that he/she/it also created the conditions which allows cancer to exist and chose to do nothing to prevent it (because the opposite contradicts its/his/her all-powerfulness).
- wait_a_minute 3y agoThat only follows if God didn’t enable free will. Most theists believe God will redeem and rehabilitate the entire universe once time is up. For example, Christians believe that sin is responsible for a fallen world and that God will fix not just the planet, but the entire universe.
- SigmundA 3y agoHow can you make a choice through free will that God didn't anticipate or in fact intend since he created good/evil/free will and in fact all things?
- ThinkBeat 3y agoRoutinely people get yelled at on here for being worried about the dangers of radioactivity. For instance, from the wastewater from Fukushima. Now when it comes to these particles science does not yet know if this is harmful. (But be tremendously afraid just in case.) A second question would be how many nano particles was in the water when it was tapped into the bottles? (Since it can be found in municipal water sources)
- Ajay-p 3y agoWhat is the solution to recycled plastic? There does not seem to be a market for recycled plastic that would support its recycling. Perhaps the costs of using plastics should go up? I wonder how the beverage and other industries would respond if there was a huge tax on plastic.
- latentcall 3y agoI imagine they’d go back to using glass if the cost of using plastic were higher. Hopefully that ends up being the case, we’ll see.
- scotty79 3y agoI think the sheer amount is so huge that the only viable path is turning plastics into building and insulation materials. I'd love to see plastic tax on every unit of plastic manufactured or imported. I would also like to see large scale cleanup and recycling efforts with their cost institutionally transferred to plastic manufacturers and importers proportionally to their recent output.
- Havoc 3y agoIs that true for sodastream too? Presumably. I’d hate to have to pressurize a glass bottle. Seems like a not amazing plan in amateur hands even if many beverages come that way.
- ratg13 3y agoNot an expert, but I would imagine the harder the plastic, the less of this you have.
- lm28469 3y agoNot if it's just the same plastic but thicker.
- HanShotFirst 3y agoI have a SodaStream that uses a glass bottle. The bottle is fully enclosed in a metal shield while being pressurized to prevent injury if the bottle breaks. I've had it for years without any bottles breaking; the glass is quite thick.
- nikolay 3y agoI keep buying Aqua Panna glass-bottled water but keep wondering how much water gets into the glass through plastic pipes! Also, it recently became evident that HDPE/LDPE jugs contain even more dangerous than BPA chemicals. Same with water pipes in home. So, there's no escape!
- lm28469 3y agoWe now find PFAS in rain water and well water so we're past the point of no return already. Plastic pipes and bottles are far down the list of our concerns
- nikolay 3y agoAqua Panna is underground spring water though: water kind of gets filtered.
- lm28469 3y agoUnderground water comes from over ground water
- nikolay 3y agoBut it goes through a very serious filtering! From their website: > Slowly filtered drop by drop through the hills of Tuscany, Acqua Panna Natural Spring Water is a gift of nature, with a heritage dating back to 1564. It is a symbol of Tuscan taste, savored the world over, at the table and on the go.
- ChrisArchitect 3y ago[dupe] More: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38923811 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38923811
- GuB-42 3y agoBefore you start panicking, from the article. > Researchers still can’t answer the big question: are nanoplastic pieces harmful to health? Also (about alternatives to bottled water) > There’s just no win I rarely buy bottled water myself because I live in a place where tap water is fine and bottled water is expensive and wasteful. But for now, that article has scientific value, but way more is needed before I consider taking action.
- latentcall 3y agoI’ve already taken steps in the last few years to reduce plastic use. Use a glass water pitcher filter system, use glass containers for leftovers, drink water/beverages from glass and not plastic, use reusable grocery bags, stopped buying clothes made with plastic, etc. It didn’t take much, just learning there is plastic in my blood and water is enough. Sure, health effects are inconclusive for now. That doesn’t mean I want to eat plastic. I already feel like plastic now is going to end up like cigarettes or lead.
- janlin1999 3y agoDo you have recommendations for glass water pitcher filter systems?
- latentcall 3y agoI use the Lifestraw Glass Pitcher. The filters are plastic cased however, wanting to move to ceramic or an alternative solution in near future.
- janlin1999 3y agoThanks for your response. If the water comes in contact with the exterior of the filters, the plastic casing does seem to undermine the point of the move.
- GuB-42 3y agoThe article mentions filters and say they cans introduce plastics too (in fact that's where the "There’s just no win" comes from). I guess that ceramic filters are an option, this is old tech, existed before plastic, and supposedly effective at making water drinkable. Or just drink straight tap water, it is fine in most of the developed world. In fact, that's what I think is the safest option. It is constantly being sanitized and monitored. Filtration solutions are fine, but they typically remove chlorine, which is often a desired effect, however, it also means that you also remove the stuff that prevents bacteria growth, which means you have to be careful that your filtered water doesn't become contaminated, possibly by the filter itself. It is, of course, doable, and the risks are low anyways, but if you are filtering drinkable tap water for health reasons, be aware that it is possible that you are making things worse. Of course, if you are filtering because your tap water is of poor quality, or for non-health related reasons (like taste), then go for it.