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Majority of potable water microplastics are smaller than the 20 μm EU methodology limit for consumable water quality

PLOS Water 2025 8 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 63 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Nadiia Yakovenko, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Nadiia Yakovenko, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Henar Margenat, Nadiia Yakovenko, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Henar Margenat, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Nadiia Yakovenko, Jeroen E., Sonke, Nadiia Yakovenko, Jeroen E., Sonke, Frederik Hagelskjær, Henar Margenat, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Henar Margenat, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Gaël, Le Roux Frederik Hagelskjær, Frederik Hagelskjær, Frederik Hagelskjær, Frederik Hagelskjær, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Frederik Hagelskjær, Nadiia Yakovenko, Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Frederik Hagelskjær, Frederik Hagelskjær, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Frederik Hagelskjær, Frederik Hagelskjær, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Gaël, Le Roux Hagelskjær, Oskar, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Hagelskjær, Oskar, Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Henar Margenat, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Henar Margenat, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Nadiia Yakovenko, Nadiia Yakovenko, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Nadiia Yakovenko, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Henar Margenat, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Nadiia Yakovenko, Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Henar Margenat, Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Nadiia Yakovenko, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Henar Margenat, Jeroen E., Sonke, Jeroen E., Sonke, Nadiia Yakovenko, Jeroen E., Sonke, Hagelskjær, Oskar, Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Gaël, Le Roux Jeroen E., Sonke, Henar Margenat, Henar Margenat, Gaël, Le Roux

Summary

Researchers tested ten brands of bottled water and found that 98% of the microplastic particles were smaller than 20 micrometers, which is below the detection limit set by EU drinking water regulations. This means current testing methods miss the vast majority of microplastics in drinking water. The smallest particles are also the most concerning for health because they are more likely to pass through the gut lining and enter the bloodstream.

Polymers

PE PET

Study Type Environmental

Microplastic (MP) content in nutrition including potable water is unregulated, although MP concentrations in individual brands of bottled water diverge by several orders of magnitude. The EU Directive 2020/2184 on consumable water quality recently proposed methodological approaches to the detection of MPs in potable water in the size range of 20–5000 μm. However, fine MPs in the 1–20 μm range are far more likely to pass the human intestine into blood and organs. To evaluate the impact of this omission on the total number of detected MPs, we determined MP concentrations down to 1 μm in ten different brands of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottled water and one tap water sample using automated Raman microspectroscopy. We found that MP concentrations ranged from 19 to 1,154 (n/L) [0.001 to 0.250 μg/L], and although all the investigated samples of bottled water were stored in PET containers, PET accounted only for a small percentage of identified MPs in most samples. Importantly, 98 and 94% of MPs measured less than 20 and 10 μm in diameter, respectively, demonstrating the importance of small MP inclusion in potable water analyses and regulation. The current study presents a protocol to identify MPs down to 1 μm in any type of potable water regardless of hardness, and demonstrates the importance of implementing both negative and positive procedural, quality control measures.

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