Microplastics in Water and Food: [Not]Awareness

Currently, the spread of micro- and nanoplastics in the food chain and the environment has become a relevant and social issue. They enter the human body mainly through food, water and drinks packaged in various plastic materials, bottles or containers. It has been established that most urban water sources are contaminated with microplastics due to wastewater. The main objective of the article was to study the awareness of microplastic sources, exposure levels and potential health risks associated with microplastic contamination of food and water by surveying a heterogeneous audience of Internet users. The preventive focus of the survey included: 1) holding an action at the medical faculty of KRSU “Day without plastic”; 2) development, publication and distribution of an information leaflet in the Internet community on the key sources of microplastics in the daily human diet. The test group consisted of 502 Internet users. The author's questionnaire included 26 questions: personal data (5 questions), the size of microplastics, sources of information, an assessment of the risk factors for microplastics entering the body, its content in food and water and the impact on human health (a list of 16 diseases associated with microplastics is provided). Statistical processing of the obtained results was carried out using SPSS version 28.0.1 software. Questionnaires of 502 respondents aged 14–50 years were obtained through an online survey from October 2023 to January 2024 using Google forms. The demographic structure reflected the predominance of female representatives - 52.4%, men accounted for 47.6%. In terms of education level, students dominated among the subjects, incomplete higher education (67.3%), then secondary (14.8%), higher (9.9%) and primary education (8.8%). Most of the respondents lived in the city (80.3%), compared to rural areas (19.7%). Since the survey involved young people, 49.8% of respondents correctly answered the question that microplastics are small particles measuring 5 microns. 50.2% of respondents answered incorrectly, indicating sizes of 10 and 15 microns. Respondents noted that microplastics are most often found in bottled water (29.5%), tea bags (17.3%), natural water (10.3%), fish (8.1%), salt (6.3%), seafood (5.5%) and honey (4.5%). All of the above were noted by 29.5% of respondents. Most respondents to the question: which vegetables are most often contaminated with microplastics, answered that none (38.5%), followed by root vegetables (30.4%), onions (13.1%), cabbage (9.7%) and legumes (8.3%). Among the presented sample - the correct answer is - root crops are most susceptible to contamination. The results of the survey show that in everyday life 45.8% of respondents most often used plastic bags (55.7%), food packaging (18.7%), then cosmetics and hygiene products (17.4%), toys (5.9%) and cutlery (2.3%). Living in a “plastic world”, Internet users somehow do not notice it, to the question of how often the respondents use plastic products, 64.7% of them answered that every day, 26.7% - sometimes, 8.6% — rarely. As the results of the survey showed, most often Internet users received information about the harm of microplastics from social networks 26.5%, Google search engine — 20.7%, scientific articles — 18.9%, news — 17.1%, while communicating with friends, family — 5.5%. At the same time, 11.3% of respondents were not interested in the problem. When comparing the assessment of awareness of the direct and indirect impact of plastic on human health during plastic production and consumer use of plastics, they were aware (46.0% and 37.1%, respectively), slightly aware (31.9% and 37.8%) and did not know (22.1% and 25.1%). The risk that plastic pollution poses to wildlife, as well as to human health, well-being and prosperity, was assessed by respondents as average. 34.6% of respondents were in favor of actively reducing the use of plastic products. 33.7% of survey participants are still at the level of awareness of the problem and attempts to reduce plastic consumption. 31.7% find it difficult to answer, since they do not see an alternative. When asked about awareness of the impact of microplastics (the silent killer) on the development of 16 specific diseases, respondents were most aware of: digestive diseases, allergies, chronic inflammation, respiratory problems, cancer and reproductive problems.