Editorial Feature

Plastic Water Bottles are a Danger to Your Health

Image Credit:Shutterstock/iamshutter

Plastic water bottles are not only a blight on the environment, it turns out they’re bad for your health too. Did you know that chemicals found in the bottles and in plastic food containers and packaging can leach out into the contents?

Risks of Using Plastic Water Bottles

It sounds quite terrifying, something as innocent as taking a sip of water from a plastic bottle or heating food up in microwaveable plastic storage, something we do every day could be having an adverse effect on our health. But is it really as bad we are led to believe?

The main target for criticism is Bisphenol A (BPA), an organic synthetic compound widely used as a starting material in plastics. The suggestion is that it seeps out of the bottle into the water and causes issues such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and cancer, amongst many others. The chemical is an endocrine disruptor which mimics the effect of oestrogen in the human body. Critics suggest this can make it harder to conceive and that its presences in children’s’ products - including feeding bottles - causes adverse effects in children. Despite plastics undergoing rigorous testing to ensure they abide by legislation, the use of BPA has been banned in many countries, especially where used in children’s products, with many manufacturers replacing it with chemicals such as fluroene-9-bisphenol (BHBP).

Studies on Effects of Bisphenol A

However, much of the research into BPA and its effects have focused on rodents using very high doses, much higher than any human is likely to be exposed to and higher than the safe level recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Such studies do not accurately reflect human exposure, and as a result many bodies, including Cancer Research UK, state that there is no good scientific evidence that using plastic bottles or containers cause cancer, or other diseases.

The EFSA recently lowered the safe level of BPA from 50µg per kilo of bodyweight per day (µg/kg of bw/day) to 4 µg/kg of bw/day because of reservations around its possible health effects on mammary glands and reproductive, metabolic, neurobehavioral and immune systems. However, the levels of BPA and other chemicals entering food and drink from containers are much lower than those considered safe. Following a full scientific review into BPA in 2015, the EFSA concluded there was no health risk to people of any age including unborn children at current BPA exposure levels. Their advice is due to be updated in 2018.

Read more: Types of equipment used to test chemical components and properties in water samples

Microplastics in Drinking Water

Microplastics is a term thrown around quite a lot at the moment, especially in relation to the ocean, but recent research has suggested that these small pieces of plastic – which are less than 5mm long – could also be found in our bottled water.

Early in 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a health review after microplastics in the form of plastic fibres were found in 93% of popular bottled water brands. Research from the State University of New York in Fredonia analysed 259 bottles from 19 locations in nine countries and 11 different brands and found, in some instances, the levels of plastic fibres in bottled water were double those found in tap water in a previous study.

Analysis of the bottled water revealed an average of 10.4 microplastic particles larger than 100um per liter of water which was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopic analysis, and an average of 325 smaller particles sized 6.5-100um per liter. The latter were discovered using Nile Red dye, which adheres to plastic particles, causing them to fluoresce. Polypropylene, a plastic used to make bottle tops, was the most common fragment found (in 54% of cases) while 4% of samples showed the presence of industrial lubricants.

The study is, as yet, unpublished, has not been through the rigorous process of peer review, and has been widely criticised by drinks manufacturers who say they have strict filtration methods while also acknowledging it would be impossible to keep products free of plastic fibres because of their ubiquity.

A second, unrelated study analysed 19 bottles of water and found the presence plastic microfibres were widespread. Scientists here contributed their incidence to the ability of microfibres to become easily airborne and suggested they could have come from people’s clothing, fans within the building or a number of other sources.

Are plastic alternatives causing more harm than good?

Conclusion

While research into plastic microfibres in limited, it is worrying to think that consumers could be paying a premium for bottled water which could inadvertently be harming their health. Research into BPA is much more substantial, but possibly misleading and its use is likely to remain a contentious issue for quite some time. Its no bad thing to cut down on our use of plastics and look for alternatives, not only for the environment but potentially for our health too. It’s likely that other factors such as diet have a more important role in disease occurrence and progression rather than what our food and drink is stored in.

References and Further Reading

  1. Synthetic polymer contamination in bottle water| via BBC News
  2. WHO launches health review after microplastics found in 90% of bottled water
  3. Is your plastic water bottle bad for your health?
  4. Do plastic bottles or food containers cause cancer?

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.

Kerry Taylor-Smith

Written by

Kerry Taylor-Smith

Kerry has been a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader since 2016, specializing in science and health-related subjects. She has a degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Bath and is based in the UK.

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. (2020, October 21). Plastic Water Bottles are a Danger to Your Health. AZoCleantech. Retrieved on October 15, 2024 from https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=790.

  • MLA

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. "Plastic Water Bottles are a Danger to Your Health". AZoCleantech. 15 October 2024. <https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=790>.

  • Chicago

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. "Plastic Water Bottles are a Danger to Your Health". AZoCleantech. https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=790. (accessed October 15, 2024).

  • Harvard

    Taylor-Smith, Kerry. 2020. Plastic Water Bottles are a Danger to Your Health. AZoCleantech, viewed 15 October 2024, https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=790.

Comments

  1. Don Georigio Don Georigio United States says:

    Very well written article on a subject of interest to me that I’ve been following for some time. I personally believe the findings on this to date are more than likely right on with much more to learn. With what we have so far I don’t understand why I’m not hearing anything about warnings, restrictions or bans on this problem by the organizations established under our federal government such the Food and Drug Admin whose priority is to keep things like this from harming us. I can’t help but wonder some times ‘are we on our own’ with this? With the information existing I would expect to have seen at least warnings if not intervention procedures to prevent this exposure by now.

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of AZoCleantech.com.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this article?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.