A Study of Microplastic Particles in Danish Tap Water

Louise Feld,Fionn Murphy,Vitor Hugo Da Silva,Jakob Strand,Nanna B Hartmann

doi:10.3390/w13152097

Louise Feld, Fionn Murphy + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152097

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Journal: Water	Publication Date: Jul 30, 2021
Citations: 24	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Aarhus University, Technical University of Denmark

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are omnipresent in our surroundings and in the environment, with drinking water being a potential pathway for human exposure. This study investigated the presence of MPs in Danish drinking water from 17 different households and workplaces in Denmark. Samples of tap water were collected using a closed sampling system to decrease airborne contamination, and QA/QC measurements were performed to assess background contamination. Particles > 100 µm were visually analysed by stereomicroscopy in combination with spectroscopy analysis (µ-FTIR) to evaluate morphology and chemical composition. An assessment of MP particles down to 10 µm was performed on water samples from three locations using hyperspectral image analysis. The results indicate a low level of MPs in Danish drinking water, with a total of seven MP particles across all samples, comprising PET, PP, PS, and ABS. Microfibers were the most common type of MP-like particles in both drinking water and blanks, but the concentration for all samples was below the limit of detection and could not be differentiated from background contamination. Most of the particles analysed by µ-FTIR were identified as cellulose fibres and a smaller subset as protein. Based on this work, we discuss the status of MP drinking water studies and address challenges and limitations regarding the analysis of MP in drinking water.

Highlights

Microplastic (MP) represents a diverse range of synthetic and semi-synthetic polymer particles ranging from few micrometres and up to 5 mm [1]
The analyses of MP in tap water from 17 sites around Denmark show that MPs occur in very low concentrations that cannot be distinguished from background levels
In all tap water samples, the number of MP-like particles were below the limit of detection (LoD) of 44 particles per 50 L sample, corresponding to 0.88 MP-like particles per L tap water. μ-FTIR analysis was used to identify 44% of the visually characterized MP-like particles

Summary

Introduction

Microplastic (MP) represents a diverse range of synthetic and semi-synthetic polymer particles ranging from few micrometres and up to 5 mm [1] These particles are highly persistent and recognized as emerging pollutants that are broadly present in our everyday surroundings and in all compartments of the environment [2]. A Danish study of tap water with samples collected from 16 households around Copenhagen reported significant concentrations of MP in all samples with an average of 18 MPs L−1 [10]. Both these studies received large public interest and raised a debate internationally about the presence of MP particles in drinking water and the levels of human exposure. No further study has been conducted to evaluate the MP concentration in Danish drinking water from households

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