Degrading our planet, one nanoparticle at a time
This year, India and the United Nations (UN) are jointly hosting the global World Environment Day celebrations, with ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ as the central theme. There is no reason to celebrate, really. Recently there was alarming news of how we are ingesting plastic nanoparticles in the food that makes it to our tables. It’s time to fix the problem but where do we even begin?
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is looking into potential risks of plastic in drinking water after a new analysis by the State University of New York’s scientists (commissioned by journalism project Orb media) was carried out. It found that more than 90 percent of world’s most popular bottled water brands (including India’s) contained tiny particles of plastic. The scientists “found roughly twice as many plastic particles within bottled water” compared with their previous study of tap water, reported the Guardian. Coca-Cola had told the BBC it had strict filtration methods, but acknowledged the ubiquity of plastics in the environment meant plastic fibres “may be found at minute levels even in highly treated products”. A previous study had also found high levels of microplastics in tap water.
