Assessing exposure of the Australian population to microplastics through bottled water consumption

Samandra, Subharthe; Mescall, Olivia J.; Plaisted, Katie; Symons, Bob; Xie, Shay; Ellis, Amanda; Clarke, Bradley O.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155329

Cited by 46 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Overall, our results are in the same order of magnitude as data previously reported in Germany [17] and Iran [44]. Lower levels of MP contamination were observed in most of the previous studies [10,11,16,18,19,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]; while two studies reported considerably higher particle count data [53,54].…”

Section: Performance Characteristics Of the Ilastik-based Workflowsupporting

confidence: 89%

Quantitative image analysis of microplastics in bottled water using Artificial Intelligence

Vitali

Peters²,

Janssen

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The ubiquitous occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in the environment and the use of plastics in packaging materials result in the presence of MPs in the food chain and the exposure of consumers. Yet, no fully validated analytical method is available for microplastic (MP) quantification, thereby preventing the reliable estimation of the level of exposure and, ultimately, the assessment of the food safety risks associated with MP contamination. In this study, a novel approach is presented that exploits interactive artificial intelligence tools to enable the automation of MP analysis. An integrated method for the analysis of MPs in bottled water based on Nile Red staining and fluorescent microscopy was developed and validated, featuring a partial interrogation of the filter and a fully automated image processing workflow based on a Random Forest classifier, thereby boosting the analysis speed. The image analysis provided particle count, size and size distribution of the MPs. From these data, a rough estimation of the mass of the individual MPs, and consequently of the MP mass concentration in the sample, could be obtained as well. Critical materials, method performance characteristics, and final applicability were studied in detail. The method showed to be highly sensitive in sizing MPs down to 10 µm, with a particle count limit of detection and quantification of 28 and 85 items/500 mL, respectively. Linearity of mass concentration determined between 10 ppb and 1.5 ppm showed a regression coefficient of (R2) of 0.99. Method precision was demonstrated by repeatability of 9 - 16% RSD (n = 7) and within-laboratory reproducibility of 15 - 27 % RSD (n = 21). Accuracy based on recovery was 92 ± 15 % and 98 ± 23 % at a level of 0.1 and 1.0 ppm, respectively. The quantitative performance characteristics thus obtained complied with regulatory requirements. Finally, the method was successfully applied to the analysis of twenty commercial samples of bottled water, with and without gas and flavor additives, yielding results ranging from values below the limit of detection to 7237 (95% CI [6456, 8088]) items/500 mL.

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Section: Performance Characteristics Of the Ilastik-based Workflowsupporting

confidence: 89%

Quantitative image analysis of microplastics in bottled water using Artificial Intelligence

Vitali

Peters²,

Janssen

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…The total of EDI for large MPs from drinking water in Hong Kong (0.276 particles (kg·d) –1 ) was found to be similar to another study in China (0.274 particles (kg·d) –1 ) [ 12 ]. Samandra et al [ 36 ] analyzed MPs with sizes between 20–500 μm from 16 brands of bottled water sold in Australia, where the exposure of MPs found (400 particles per year) was at least 15 times lower than large MPs of this study, implicating a large variation of exposure to large MPs from bottled water in different parts of the world.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 58%

Quantitative Assessment of Full Size Microplastics in Bottled and Tap Water Samples in Hong Kong

Tse¹,

Chan²,

Sze³

2022

IJERPH

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Human exposure to microplastics (MPs) through drinking water has drawn serious concern recently because of the potential adverse health effects. Although there are reports on the occurrence of MPs in bottled water, little is known about the abundance of a whole spectrum of MPs with sizes ranging from 1 µm to 5 mm due to the restrictions of conventional MPs detection methods. Some studies using micro-Raman spectroscopy can achieve MPs with a size of <10 µm, however, quantitation of all MPs was extremely time consuming and only a small portion (<10%) of MPs would be analyzed. The present study quantified MPs from nine brands of bottled water using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry for MPs with a size of ≥50 µm and a size of <50 µm, respectively. The average abundance of MPs with a size of ≥50 µm in bottled water samples was found ranging from 8–50 particles L−1, while MPs with a size of <50 µm were found to be 1570–17,817 particles L−1, where the MPs abundance from mineral water samples were significantly more than distilled and spring water samples. The modal size and shape of MPs were found at 1 µm and fragments, respectively. Besides, three tap water samples obtained locally were analyzed and compared with the bottled water samples, where less MPs were found in tap water samples. In addition, contamination of MPs from bottle and cap and interference by addition of mineral salts were studied, where no significant difference from all these processes to the control sample was found, suggesting the major contamination of MPs was from other manufacturing processes. Estimated daily intake (EDI) of MPs increased substantially when data of small MPs are included, suggesting that previously reports on exposure of MPs from drinking water might be underestimated, as only large MPs were considered.

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“…The area of each circle is proportional to the average fraction of MPs of each polymer type, as reported in a sampling of peer-reviewed studies; the total area of all circles in each column is identical. The number of studies per food commodity varied: tea ( n = 6), − milk (4), − bottled water (9), ,,,− municipal/tap water (15), − other beverages (6), ,,, salt (10), − fish (15), − mollusks (13), ,− and crustaceans (11). ,,− The terms Mod. cellulose and Reg.…”

Section: Microplastics and Nanoplastics In Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regulatory Science Perspective on the Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Human Food

Duncan,

Khan,

Patri

et al. 2024

Anal. Chem.

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Microplastics are increasingly reported, not only in the environment but also in a wide range of food commodities. While studies on microplastics in food abound, the current state of science is limited in its application to regulatory risk assessment by a continued lack of standardized definitions, reference materials, sample collection and preparation procedures, fit-for purpose analytical methods for real-world and environmentally relevant plastic mixtures, and appropriate quality controls. This is particularly the case for nanoplastics. These methodological challenges hinder robust, quantitative exposure assessments of microplastic and nanoplastic mixtures from food consumption. Furthermore, limited toxicological studies on whether microplastics and nanoplastics adversely impact human health are also impeded by methodology challenges. Food safety regulatory agencies must consider both the exposure and the risk of contaminants of emerging concern to ascertain potential harm. Foundational to this effort is access to and application of analytical methods with the capability to quantify and characterize micro-and nanoscale sized polymers in complex food matrices. However, the early stages of method development and application of early stage methods to study the distribution and potential health effects of microplastics and nanoplastics in food have largely been done without consideration of the stringent requirements of methods to inform regulatory activities. We provide regulatory science perspectives on the state of knowledge regarding the occurrence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food and present our general approach for developing, validating, and implementing analytical methods for regulatory purposes.

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Assessing exposure of the Australian population to microplastics through bottled water consumption

Cited by 46 publications

References 42 publications

Quantitative image analysis of microplastics in bottled water using Artificial Intelligence

Quantitative image analysis of microplastics in bottled water using Artificial Intelligence

Quantitative Assessment of Full Size Microplastics in Bottled and Tap Water Samples in Hong Kong

Regulatory Science Perspective on the Analysis of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Human Food

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