
Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study - simonebrunozzi
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bottled-water-microplastics-1.4575045
======
Isamu
It's good to see the honest qualifications in the article:

>Mason's team was able to identify specific plastics over 100 microns (0.10
mm) in size but not smaller particles. According to experts contacted by CBC
News, there is a chance the Nile Red dye is adhering to another unknown
substance other than plastic.

>Mason leaves open that possibility but leans strongly to the smaller
particles being plastic.

>The developer of the Nile Red method agrees.

>Fluorescing particles that were too small to be analyzed should be called
"probable microplastic," said Andrew Mayes, senior lecturer in chemistry at
the University of East Anglia in the U.K.

~~~
lukaa
For practical purpose does it matter? It detects non-water
particles(pollution) in twice higher ratio than in tap water and plastic
bottled water is sold as way purer than tap water with 1000 time higher price.
Basically it's scam.

~~~
cortesoft
Plastic bottled water is not bought because it is higher quality. People buy
it because it comes in a disposable container.

~~~
thelittleone
In Bali, Indonesia (and many developing countries) you have no choice.
Drinking tap water is also health hazard in some countries.

~~~
mastazi
In Bali, Thailand and many other places in SE Asia, you can get water that
comes from local treatment plants (it usually looks like this[1]) instead of
"brand" bottled water (like these ones[2]), the former is almost always
bottled locally (at the nearest water treatment plant, they are ubiquitous in
SE Asia even in regional areas, sometimes they are subsidised by governments),
as a result the water tends to stay in the bottle for a much shorter time
whereas "brand" water is not sourced locally and it travels long distances
after being bottled. In addition the employees of the local water treatment
plant will often come and take back empty bottles to use them again, so in
those cases you have nearly 100% recycling and very little plastic waste.

I don't have any evidence that [1] contains less microplastics than [2]
unfortunately, but I think it could be the case.

(I have lived in Indonesia for about one year and part of my family is from
Thailand).

[1] [http://www.nomad4ever.com/wp-
content/uploads/2006/12/bottle_...](http://www.nomad4ever.com/wp-
content/uploads/2006/12/bottle_handling_at_bintang_supermarket_legian_bali2.jpg)

[2] [https://www.bali.com/media/image/865/plastic-bottles-
waste.j...](https://www.bali.com/media/image/865/plastic-bottles-waste.jpg)

~~~
peteretep
Surprised you didn’t mention the ubiquitous bring-your-own-container 1 baht
water vending machines in Thailand too, which as I understand it are doing ad-
hoc filtering:

[https://m.alibaba.com/product/137674491/Water-Vending-
Machin...](https://m.alibaba.com/product/137674491/Water-Vending-Machine-
Model-RO-800.html)

~~~
mastazi
Yes you are right, those are another very good example of locally treated
water, my Thai relatives live in a rural area where the “gallon bottles” are
more commonplace so I forgot to mention those machines.

------
slowmovintarget
Went looking to see what the comparison to tap water was:

> Orb found on average there were 10.4 particles of plastic per litre that
> were 100 microns (0.10 mm) or bigger. This is double the level of
> microplastics in the tap water tested from more than a dozen countries
> across five continents, examined in a 2017 study by Orb that looked at
> similar-sized plastics.

Worse... it's worse than tap water.

~~~
groby_b
Well, for microplastics.

If you live e.g. in the Bay Area, your tap water instead has a good chance of
having a good helping of hexavalent chromium[1], which... not too healthy.
(Neither are arsenic, bromium, etc.)

Pick your poison. Literally.

[1] [https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Tap-water-Bay-Area-
datab...](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Tap-water-Bay-Area-database-
contaminants-study-11510434.php)

~~~
4ntonius8lock
Is this something that would be removed with common cheap consumer filters?
(such as Britta)

I drink a lot of tap water, but always put it through a filter of some sort.

~~~
mdorazio
Took some poking around to piece together a real answer, but the ion exchange
component in a standard Brita filter (or similar pour-through) isn't the right
kind to trap chromium (mostly just zinc, copper, and cadmium). You either need
a higher-grade ion exchange filter (you can search for "Chromium 6 Water
Filter" on Amazon) or a reverse osmosis system.

~~~
4ntonius8lock
Thanks. Reverse osmosis removes minerals, which isn't something I want.
Personally (this is just my perspective) I operate under the theory we don't
fully understand the human body, so don't mess with things too much, removing
minerals and then selectively adding some back in is not something I think we
are well informed enough to do without possible negative consequences.

I looked for Chromium 6 Water Filter and found plenty of good options. Truly
thank you for the recommendation.

------
RcouF1uZ4gsC
I wonder if all the articles talking about the prevalence of microplastics,
are in actuality demonstrating the safety of microplastics.

If it is in 93% of bottled water, and bottled water is used by millions of
people (according to [https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/should-we-
brea...](https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/should-we-break-our-
bottled-water-habit/) around 110 Million people in the US avoid drinking tap
water), then there has been widespread exposure to microplastics.

It does not seem like there has been huge health consequences due to
microplastics, so microplastics are probably pretty safe for humans.

~~~
Richard_East
"From 1973 to 2011, there was a decline of more than 50 percent in sperm
counts among men living in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand."

"The researchers said that they cannot determine from their data what might
have caused the decline, but it could be related to environmental or lifestyle
factors."

[https://www.livescience.com/59948-sperm-count-drop-
western-m...](https://www.livescience.com/59948-sperm-count-drop-western-
men.html)

~~~
longtom
A link has been found to some household chemicals (diethylhexyl phthalate
(DEHP) and polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (PCB153)) affecting dogs:

[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fertility-
problems...](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/fertility-problems-
mans-best-friend-could-spell-trouble-men-180960099/)

~~~
linuxftw
The world is full of chemicals right now. One day, humanity will look back at
the last 100 years (and probably the next 50) and wonder what we were
thinking.

~~~
cortesoft
The world is made up of ONLY chemicals, now and forever

~~~
jagannathtech
That's just pedantic. It is implied that the issue is 'synthetic chemicals'

~~~
cortesoft
That is still an overly broad category to be worried about in general... just
because something is synthetic doesn't mean it is more or less dangerous than
a non-synthetic thing.

~~~
linuxftw
Non-naturally occurring chemicals, or at least chemicals that we weren't
traditionally exposed to in great abundance. Like laundry detergent and
conventional shampoo. Those are probably terrible for the environment. When we
ban one, companies just create another one.

~~~
not_alex_archer
It's not really pedantic because toxicity is in the dosage

~~~
linuxftw
Toxicity is one measure. What about endocrine disruption? What ability long-
term effects like cancer? And that's just for humans. We don't know how some
of these compounds that end up in our waterways are affecting marine line.

------
makerofspoons
Was there some sort of scientific breakthrough that has allowed researchers to
find these microplastics for the first time, or is it just that nobody had
looked yet?

~~~
irrational
I was wondering the same thing. I saw an article yesterday about scientists
just discovering that tea bags release billions of micro and nano particles.

~~~
jerrysievert
the tea bags are a new plastic mesh kind, currently from a small handful of
manufacturers.

~~~
gambiting
Wasn't it pretty much every large tea manufacturer in the UK though? I
definitely got the impression that it's very widespread.

~~~
NeedMoreTea
I got the sense it was the nylon bagged tea that had the issue, and they are
comparatively rare in the UK. Yet many paper tea bags have tiny amounts of
plastic based glue. No idea if that's enough to be feeding us microplastics,
or relative quantity to plastic ones.

It's one of those things that having found surprising amounts _somewhere,_
we're going to spend the coming years finding surprising amounts _everywhere._

Bit like the chap who ended up finding lead from petrol everywhere on every
researcher and clean surface in his lab, invented the clean room, and started
finding it up mountains etc.

------
segfaultbuserr
See also:

* Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16793888](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16793888)

* Microplastics found in 90 percent of table salt

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18248471](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18248471)

* Microplastics Are Blowing in the Wind

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19672514](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19672514)

* Microplastics found in supermarket fish, shellfish

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14245133](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14245133)

I think people around the world have been ingesting microplastic for 30 years
or longer, yet there's no reported case of any direct toxic effects. So I
guess microplastic doesn't have immediately effects on health, but I won't be
surprised if future studies find longterm effects, such as increasing the risk
of cancer, damage to the circulatory system or the brain.

Overall, I think we must take actions immediately for solutions, but I won't
particularly worry about this problem and I'll continue buying bottled water.
It's not unlike the air pollution in the 20th century, one has to live with
it.

Nevertheless, "microplastic is going to kill all of us" surely is going to be
the trope of the next decade.

~~~
fouc
It's possible the microplastics could be to blame for the decline in male
fertility.

~~~
lucb1e
Well, the problem would solve itself. And that's not actually a joke. A book
from a very popular author (no name because spoiler) creates a world where
this is a reality. The movie changed the ending and thereby the whole book
(I'm still pissed), but the book has this, and having a third of the world
population be infertile for a generation might help us quite a bit. When the
deed is already done by a mad scientist, the leading people in the book are
wondering whether they should actually want to revert it. (You probably won't
recognize the book until you're near or at the end, so I don't think this
should spoil it for anyone.) I'm not sure if in the real world it would work
as well as it did in the story, but hypothetically, it's interesting to talk
about. Killing people, we won't support. But what about restricting kids? It
creates a livable world for the kids that we do bring into the world. We'll
still have a huge climate issue, but it'll greatly increase our chances of
managing it. (This is one of the reasons I'm not getting kids.)

~~~
e12e
> A book from a very popular author (no name because spoiler)

The author's name is a spoiler? Are you talking about P. D. James' The
Children of Men?

~~~
lucb1e
> The author's name is a spoiler?

Yeah because it would spoil the book. By mentioning the book nor the author,
you don't realize that you know the spoiler until you've already read 90% of
the book.

In case someone does want to know, in rot13: vasreab ol qna oebja

~~~
e12e
How would you buy or borrow this book without knowing the name?

Ed: having rot13 that, I still don't see how it's a spoiler...

~~~
lucb1e
You wouldn't be able to get the book, that wasn't the point of the comment.
I'd have liked to be able to recommend the book, but then we can't talk about
its conclusion, and the book also isn't that much in depth (it's mostly
entertainment). If I wanted to mention the author or title, I'd have to put
the situation description behind some kind of spoiler protection and only
those who want to be spoiled or read it already would be able to take part in
the discussion.

I don't understand what's unclear about spoilers: what I described (a part of
the world population infertile) is only revealed in the final like 10 pages of
the book.

Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that there is a book at all, since it isn't
super in depth anyway. But I also don't want to pass it off as an idea of my
own.

------
40four
I was curious if the micro-plastics could be coming from the bottles they are
packaged in. The article says...

 _It 's not clear how the plastic is getting into the bottled water — whether
it's the water source itself or the air or the manufacturing and bottling
process.

"Even the simple act of opening the cap could cause plastic to be chipping off
the cap," Mason said._

I think it's easy to assume it's from the water source, & or a low quality
filtration process, but it could very well be from the same bottle you are
holding.

I suspect it's a combination of both. Is it possible some of the brands with
higher counts use a lower quality plastic for the bottle & cap? This also
makes sense to me since San Pellegrino has the lowest profile, and often comes
in glass.

~~~
zepearl
> _This also makes sense to me since San Pellegrino has the lowest profile,
> and often comes in glass._

No mention of which variant(s) (glass, plastic, both?) were tested, right? (or
I haven't been able to find the statement)

~~~
40four
I didn't notice any mention. Just a guess though, I've seen S. Pellegrino in
plastic so it's possible theirs were.

~~~
zepearl
If this [https://orbmedia.org/stories/plus-
plastic/](https://orbmedia.org/stories/plus-plastic/) is the website that
posted the results (weird site - what's with all those huge/fancy
animations?): I keep seeing small plastic bottles (in the animations) => does
San Pellegrino sell it (as well) in small glass bottles? (or are the small
ones only plastic/PET)?

~~~
armitron
It comes in glass for both small and big bottles.

------
css
The actual breakdown by brand:
[https://dpy68rfhp0glq.cloudfront.net/styles/large/s3/2017_Mi...](https://dpy68rfhp0glq.cloudfront.net/styles/large/s3/2017_Microplastics_BottledWater_Results_Graphic_desktop_0.jpg?itok=zjViks1U)

~~~
calvinmorrison
I wonder if pelligino is very low because it's bottled mineral water

~~~
css
Where I live they are all glass bottles, so I am not sure how plastic enters
in the first place.

~~~
cptskippy
Yeah, I was under the impression they only came in glass so the fact that they
have the lowest amount of plastic could implicate the bottle itself as the
primary source.

Perhaps the low amount in SP is from that seal in the bottle cap?

------
sp332
The report is here in a funky interactive webpage:
[https://orbmedia.org/stories/plus-
plastic/](https://orbmedia.org/stories/plus-plastic/) The brands and levels of
microplastic are about halfway down.

------
hourislate
I was under the impression Gerolsteiner and San Pellegrino were from deep
under ground springs where it took the water decades or more to filter down
into the source where the bottler draws it from. Are the plastics somehow in
the source or are they being introduced in another way, perhaps when the
bottles are washed, handled, etc before filling?

~~~
armitron
The bottles themselves are suspicious and have been implicated [1]. All
plastics have been found to leech chemicals, including PET [2] which is used
for bottled water.

If you think that in a typical warehouse or storage facility (before it hits a
supermarket or sales point), bottled water is never refrigerated and that the
temperatures it is exposed to are very frequently 'extreme', it should come as
no surprise that the plastic can break down and contaminate the water.

A most troubling observation is that even plastics labeled BPA-free or
strongly marketed as baby-safe seem to make no difference, in many cases
actually being orders of magnitude worse than the plastics they replaced [3].

The precautionary principle should strongly characterize -all- plastics as
unsafe but in reality, governments are very slow to respond. Especially, in
the US, regulatory capture has made the FDA ignore plenty of scientific
evidence and basically treat all chemicals as safe unless proven otherwise.
[3]

[1]
[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/07/expos...](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/07/exposed-
to-extreme-heat-plastic-bottles-may-become-unsafe-over-time/)

[2]
[https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/29/2555698.h...](https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/04/29/2555698.htm)

[3] [https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-
certi...](https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certichem-
eastman-bpa-free-plastic-safe/)

~~~
outworlder
> and basically treat all chemicals as safe unless proven otherwise.

Shouldn't that be always the case? 'Chemicals' permutations are countless. You
and I are a bag of "chemicals", and most of them, even if naturally occurring,
are harmful depending on dosage.

~~~
armitron
There's a difference of degree and a difference of kind.

In Europe, there are standards and tests that are performed before something
is deemed to be "safe" enough to be sold to the public. Look at the
supplements industry in Europe for instance where there is a standard of proof
to be met and contrast to the supplements industry in the USA where anything
goes [5]. It is not a coincidence that the contaminated supply of valsartan
was discovered in Europe [1].

In the US there are - usually- no standards and for the vast majority of
consumables, no tests done. Even for highly sensitive chemicals (e.g. marketed
to the baby market), the FDA is visibly in the pockets of big corporations and
- when forced to act - is moving at a snail's pace. It is depressing to see
the FDA capitulating to the lobbyists [2] until the mountain of evidence grows
to the point where it commands attention. Even then, it can be ignored [3]
[4].

[1] [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-12/how-
carci...](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-12/how-carcinogen-
tainted-generic-drug-valsartan-got-past-the-fda)

[2] [https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-
certi...](https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certichem-
eastman-bpa-free-plastic-safe)

[3] [https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/fda-still-
hasn...](https://www.consumerreports.org/bottled-water/fda-still-hasnt-pushed-
for-recall-of-bottled-water-import-with-excessive-arsenic/)

[4] [https://www.consumerreports.org/arsenic-in-food/fda-has-
know...](https://www.consumerreports.org/arsenic-in-food/fda-has-known-of-
high-arsenic-levels-in-keurig-dr-pepper-penafiel-bottled-mineral-water/)

[5] From [https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/whats-in-your-
chil...](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/whats-in-your-childs-mac-
and-cheese-toxic-chemicals-a-new-study-says/)

"Europe has banned many phthalates from use in plastics that come into contact
with fatty foods, including baby food, but the FDA allows the use of many
phthalates in such materials and classifies them as indirect food additives."

------
simonsarris
The paper for people who wanna look at which brands, etc:

[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327574651_Synthetic...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327574651_Synthetic_Polymer_Contamination_in_Bottled_Water/link/5b97bd1492851c4ba80dcf24/download)

If you just want the brand summary here is the image:
[https://imgur.com/a/l2mDlNf](https://imgur.com/a/l2mDlNf)

Great detail and work.

Note:

> Of all the lots tested, only one was packaged in glass rather than plastic:
> Gerolsteiner [...] the same brand of water but packaged in plastic instead
> of glass was also tested [...] While both of these packaged waters have the
> same water source, there was considerably less microplastic contamination
> within the water bottled in glass as compared to that packaged in plastic

------
m0zg
And I should care about this why exactly? They haven't been found to be
harmful to humans. Best I can tell we just poop it all out. This has all the
hallmarks of a manufactured crisis that's not actually a crisis.

~~~
copperx
There's a concerning increase of colon cancer (not a fake increase because of
better detection) and researchers have no idea why it is happening.
Microplastics need to be ruled out.

~~~
m0zg
The state of medical sciences is so abysmal we can't even "rule" whether eggs
and butter are good or bad. What makes you think this determination can even
be made at all?

------
aussieguy1234
They're also in tap water
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-...](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-
fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals)

Alot of people started drinking bottled water as a way around the problem.

Startup idea: Microplastic free bottled water

------
davidcollantes
This is a 2018 article, just in case it isn't evident for anyone. The fact
remains, though, and it is probably worse a year after.

~~~
Insanity
How would it be worse?

~~~
ryanmercer
Larger pieces of plastic in the environment break down into smaller and
smaller pieces. If we outlawed plastic today, and quit making it, the number
of microplastic particles would continue to increase in the environment for a
very long time.

~~~
Insanity
Yeah that makes sense, thanks!

------
redm
Distilled water and glass bottles are the way to go. You can get a small
distiller for your home relatively cheaply.

~~~
notadoc
Are you concerned about electrolyte imbalance with drinking distilled water?

~~~
Cytobit
I've often heard that drinking distilled water is bad due to it leaching
minerals/electrolytes. Has anyone done the math on this to either validate or
debunk this?

A 16oz bottle of San Pellegrino has 20mg of sodium. How can such a small
difference in sodium intake (and other minerals) have a meaningful influence
on electrolyte levels?

~~~
calculuscrayon
It is a common misconception that drinking distilled water is dangerous. Water
isn't a major source of minerals.
[source]([https://biology.stackexchange.com/a/7194](https://biology.stackexchange.com/a/7194))

------
mrb
Direct link to the study (published Sep 2018):

HTML:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/)

PDF:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/pdf/fch...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6141690/pdf/fchem-06-00407.pdf)

Alternative PDF version:
[https://orbmedia.org/sites/default/files/FinalBottledWaterRe...](https://orbmedia.org/sites/default/files/FinalBottledWaterReport.pdf)

------
Kip-Kasper
I see some comments weighing the pros & cons of drinking bottled vs tap water

Bottled water has the most microplastics, 1000x cost, and the higher
environmental impact (one can assume)

Tap water has half the microplastics and it's cheaper but it's also running
through pipes that introduce lead into it

But what about just collecting rainwater and purifying it?

Update: It's in the rainwater too [https://bigthink.com/surprising-
science/microplastics-rainwa...](https://bigthink.com/surprising-
science/microplastics-rainwater)

------
anonu
The real question: is municipal sourced water "better" (have fewer plastics)
than bottled water?

Edit: article says tap water is better

~~~
rileyphone
Highly variable based on where you live, some places it is far better, some
places it can get you sick.

------
cr4zy
Highly recommend zero water or another in-house filter. In Mountain View, CA
or South San Francisco - one zero water filter last me hundreds of gallons. In
Mesa, AZ it only last me around 50 gallons but that is still competitive with
a water and ice except that you don't have to drive the water back to your
house.

------
myrandomcomment
Ugh, I drink San Pellegrino like it is water. :) There is one sitting next to
me as I type this. I like the "fuzzy water" as my daughter called it when she
was 2.

Any studies on if it is in the tab water and the effects of something like a
Britta filter on taking them out? Our house water is though that.

~~~
quickthrower2
Britta are going to love the microplastic awareness movement. They'll figure
out a way to filter them out and then they'll sell like hot cakes.

------
innagadadavida
Every bit helps. If you are a male who shaves, just try switching over to DE
razors. It has no plastics whatsoever and it feels great on the skin - unless
you have no basic motor skills and cut yourself silly. I switched over a
decade ago and I’d never go back to plastic disposable razors.

------
abootstrapper
Has only bottled water been studied? I wonder how many microplastics are found
in gallon milk and sodas?

------
bawana
Does it matter? Do our bodies absorb the stuff? Millions of years primates
have been scrounging in the dirt for food. Crystals, metals and organics have
been running through our gut for millenia. I am more concerned with absorbed
uncured plastic monomer.

------
dpiestun
[https://www.startupschool.org/companies/G4IxrCRyHoEXow](https://www.startupschool.org/companies/G4IxrCRyHoEXow)

Hi, visit our startup initiative to fight drinking water scarcity and quality
concerns.

------
forgotmypw3
Isn't most bottled water bottled in plastic?

The bottle is plastic. The lid is plastic too.

When you're opening the bottle, plastic is rubbing against plastic, and then
water is pouring over it.

Even glass-bottles typically have a lid that has a plastic sealing layer
inside.

------
kasbah
Interesting, makes me want to put some microplastics in our DNA sequencer /
robotic fluorescent microscope and have a scan.

[https://reseq.hackteria.org](https://reseq.hackteria.org)

~~~
kasbah
* put some bottled water into the DNA sequencer/fluorescence microscope I mean

------
aresant
Has a similar study been done to look at sandwich bags? Grocery bags?

------
ilaksh
Can a reverse osmosis filter remove microplastics?

How dangerous are microplastics?

------
NilsIRL
When you buy bottled water, you buy a bottle with water in it.

------
zczc
Water is commonly treated with membranes. Membranes are made from polymers and
have with sub-micron dimensions. Could this be the source of microplastics?

------
kenned3
bet you it is still not enough to convince those water bottle people to stop
using it and move back to tapwater.

bottled water - one of the biggest scams of the decade.

------
atoav
At least in the EU most milk packaging is lightly coated with silver on the
inside which helps with durability, don’t know how it is in the US.

------
theklub
Does boiling water vaporize the micro plastics?

------
cryptozeus
Does it state anywhere that they get absorbed in the bloodstream or they get
out of the system via natural route?

------
markhahn
as if the macroplastics _around_ the bottled water aren't a much bigger
concern...

------
steveharman
Does anyone have a source for the % of micro plastics in typical tap water?

------
andreygrehov
So, what should we drink?

~~~
alkonaut
I always just drink tap water and find it better tasting than bottled. But I
guess that varies by where you live. Do most people in the US drink 100%
bottled?

~~~
andreygrehov
I'm in New York and I don't like tap water at all (a lot of people do though).
I used to drink bottled water only, but it was not convenient as I could
easily forget to order a new pack, so I switched to Brita filter + tap water.
So far so good. I don't believe a $40 filter does a tremendous amount of
filtering, but it seems to be OK ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

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elif
I wish they would have listed the brands of the 7% that passed.

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artur_makly
one of the reasons we moved to Bariloche, Patagonia.. is that we get fresh
water directly from the Andes.. tastes like heaven. Welcome to the
Thunderdome.

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afinlayson
I'd put money in a startup that solved this.

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peter303
Is it dangerous?

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nickysielicki
Phthalates are the new smoking

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adameast1978
Plastics in water that is stored in plastic... very surprising. Glad we have
science to tell us this...

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brootstrap
shameless plug for king gizz.

[https://genius.com/King-gizzard-and-the-lizard-wizard-
plasti...](https://genius.com/King-gizzard-and-the-lizard-wizard-plastic-
boogie-lyrics)

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thomaswang
Plastic found in water contained in a plastic bottle. Not really shocked.

~~~
z2
>...plastic bottle

I'm even confused by this point--given that some of the water (e.g. San
Pellegrino) often comes in glass bottles, can we even assume all bottles
measured were plastic? It seems like it should be obvious or else it would be
a useless study, but I fail to find a single assertion that all bottled water
tested were indeed plastic bottles. That and S. Pellegrino has such a low max
count compared with others...

~~~
inimino
Would you expect glass dust in a water sold in glass?

~~~
dougmwne
Honestly I would, in microscopic quantities.

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jakedub4d2
Boxed water?

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meche123
No wonder about the results. “The water tested was purchased in the U.S.,
Kenya, China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mexico and Thailand” - so
basically just third world countries without strong food safety regulations.

~~~
anonu
The US isn't a 3rd world country.

Lebanon's biggest natural resource in a parched middle east is massive
underground aquifers with some of the purest water around.

I can't speak to quality of the bottling process though.

