A new study points to boiling as a potential method to lessen microplastic pollution in drinking water.
Saul Elbein reports for The Hill.
In short:
- Boiling tap water could eliminate about 80% of certain microplastics.
- The technique, common in East Asian cooking, may be more effective than bottled water, which has high nanoplastic content.
- There are some caveats to the research: scientists only looked at three of the most common plastic polymers, for example.
Why this matters:
The discovery offers a practical tip for reducing microplastic ingestion, linking to wider concerns about environmental pollutants affecting human health, amidst debates over the safety threshold for plastic exposure. Scientists criticize current regulatory approaches to determining chemical toxicity, suggesting no level of exposure to certain compounds may be safe.
