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Here we go,
more of the same,
but different:
Microplastics found in Great Lakes water, beer KARE 11 Published on May 7, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvvgqgk9Agg U of M researchers have found microplastic contamination in tap water taken from the Great Lakes, and beer brewed with water from the Great Lakes, in a big study recently published in a scientific journal.
PLOS Open Source Anthropogenic contamination of tap water, beer, and sea salt Mary Kosuth , Sherri A. Mason , Elizabeth V. Wattenberg Published: April 11, 2018 //doi org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194970Abstract Plastic pollution has been well documented in natural environments, including the open waters and sediments within lakes and rivers, the open ocean and even the air, but less attention has been paid to synthetic polymers in human consumables. Since multiple toxicity studies indicate risks to human health when plastic particles are ingested, more needs to be known about the presence and abundance of anthropogenic particles in human foods and beverages. This study investigates the presence of anthropogenic particles in 159 samples of globally sourced tap water, 12 brands of Laurentian Great Lakes beer, and 12 brands of commercial sea salt. Of the tap water samples analyzed, 81% were found to contain anthropogenic particles. The majority of these particles were fibers (98.3%) between 0.1–5 mm in length. The range was 0 to 61 particles/L, with an overall mean of 5.45 particles/L. Anthropogenic debris was found in each brand of beer and salt. Of the extracted particles, over 99% were fibers. After adjusting for particles found in lab blanks for both salt and beer, the average number of particles found in beer was 4.05 particles/L with a range of 0 to 14.3 particles/L and the average number of particles found in each brand of salt was 212 particles/kg with a range of 46.7 to 806 particles/kg. Based on consumer guidelines, our results indicate the average person ingests over 5,800 particles of synthetic debris from these three sources annually, with the largest contribution coming from tap water (88%).
Editorial Microplastics and human health—an urgent problem https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(17)30121-3/fulltext Volume 1, No. 7, e254, October 2017