Scientists have found millions of microparticles of plastic in a drink from baby bottles
'27.10.2020'
Source: Jana.Delfi
Bottle-fed babies consume millions of microparticles of plastic a day with milk, researchers from Ireland have found. Writes about it Jana.Delfi.
At the same time, the authors of the study do not call for abandoning the use of heated plastic containers, emphasizing that science does not yet know anything specific about the harm of plastic microparticles to humans.
Scientists at the University of Dublin Trinity College were surprised by the sheer number of plastic microparticles that are released during the high-temperature sterilization of popular polypropylene baby bottles.
“Last year, a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that an average person consumes 300 to 600 microplastics a day. Our average figures turned out to be much higher: a million or several million, ”one of the authors of the study, professor of chemistry John Boland, told The Guardian.
“We were just dumbfounded,” the scientist added.
Microplastics are usually defined as pieces less than five millimeters in length. Most are smaller than a human hair.
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How was the study
For the experiment, the researchers washed 10 new polypropylene bottles three times, and then sterilized them in accordance with WHO recommendations by holding them in 95 degrees Celsius water for five minutes. After drying the bottles in air, the scientists then shaken them into a mixture with boiled water cooled to 70 degrees Celsius.
When Boland and his team examined the liquid from the bottles under a microscope, it was found that it contained an average of 4 million microplastics per liter.
The scientists then compared this figure to the average amount of milk consumed by infants from polypropylene bottles in 48 countries. It turned out that one baby has about one and a half million microparticles of plastic per day.
Boland's team then tested liquids from bottles that had been warmed to cooler temperatures and found that heating, like shaking the bottle, produced more microplastics.
Polypropylene is one of the most popular types of plastic for tableware and food containers in the world. According to the study authors, 82% of all infant formula bottles are made from it. Glass ones are much less popular.
Scientists have more than once found microplastics in human food and drink: in bottled water, in tea from plastic bags, in fish. The alarming point is that these particles can be potentially toxic to humans, however, at the moment, no evidence has been found for this.
Professor Boland notes that if the findings of his research concern parents, it is possible to reduce the amount of microparticles of plastic in milk. This can be achieved, he said, by rinsing a sterilized bottle with chilled boiled water three times. The mixture can be mixed in a non-plastic container and then poured into a finished bottle.
In 2019, WHO experts analyzed the available data on microplastics and came to the conclusion that on their basis it is impossible to draw a conclusion about the harm of small plastic particles to the human body. At the same time, WHO called on the scientific community for new research on this topic.
“We urgently need to learn more,” the WHO said in a statement.
