Microplastic contamination of drinking water: a systematic review.

Danopoulos, Evan; Twiddy, Maureen; Rotchell, Jeanette M.

Abstract

Background
Microplastics (MPs) are omnipresent in the environment, including the human food chain; a likely important contributor to human exposure is drinking water.
Objective
To undertake a systematic review of MP contamination of drinking water and estimate quantitative exposures.
Methods
The protocol for the systematic review employed has been published in PROSPERO (PROSPERO 2019, Registration number: CRD42019145290). MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched from launch to the 3rd of June 2020, selecting studies that used procedural blank samples and a validated method for particle composition analysis. Studies were reviewed within a narrative analysis. A bespoke risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool was used.
Results
12 studies were included in the review: six of tap water (TW) and six of bottled water (BW). Meta-analysis was not appropriate due to high statistical heterogeneity (I 2 >95%). Seven studies were rated low RoB and all confirmed MP contamination of drinking water. The most common polymers identified in samples were polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP), Methodological variability was observed throughout the experimental protocols. For example, the minimum size of particles extracted and analysed, which varied from 1 to 100 μm, was seen to be critical in the data reported. The maximum reported MP contamination was 628 MPs/L for TW and 4889 MPs/L for BW, detected in European samples. Based on typical consumption data, this may be extrapolated to a maximum yearly human adult uptake of 458,000 MPs for TW and 3,569,000 MPs for BW.
Conclusions
This is the first systematic review that appraises the quality of existing evidence on MP contamination of drinking water and estimates human exposures. The precautionary principle should be adopted to address concerns on possible human health effects from consumption of MPs. Future research should aim to standardise experimental protocols to aid comparison and elevate quality.

Citation

Danopoulos, E., Twiddy, M., & Rotchell, J. M. (2020). Microplastic contamination of drinking water: a systematic review. PLoS ONE, 15(7 July), Article e0236838. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236838

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Jul 15, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jul 31, 2020
• Publication Date: Jul 31, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jul 17, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 20, 2020
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Print ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 7 July
• Article Number: e0236838
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0236838
• Keywords: Water pollution; Systematic reviews; Water resources; Medical risk factors; Metaanalysis; Surface water; Body weight; Polymers
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3543610
• Publisher URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236838