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Environmental Sources
Food & Water
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Free, but not microplastic-free, drinking water from outdoor refill kiosks: A challenge and a wake-up call for urban management
Environmental Pollution2022
44 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Ignacio Elizalde,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Ignacio Elizalde,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Fermín Pérez‐Guevara,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
V.C. Shruti,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Gurusamy Kutralam-Muniasamy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
V.C. Shruti,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy
V.C. Shruti,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Ignacio Elizalde,
V.C. Shruti,
V.C. Shruti,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Ignacio Elizalde,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Priyadarsi D. Roy,
Priyadarsi D. Roy
Summary
Microplastics were detected in water from all 22 free outdoor drinking water refill kiosks tested in Mexico City parks, with an average concentration of 74 MPs per liter. The presence of MPs in these widely-used free water sources highlights a public health gap in microplastic monitoring and removal standards for urban water distribution infrastructure.
Free refill drinking water kiosks are an essential sustainable water supply system for people in metropolitan areas worldwide. Despite their importance in urban settings, the impact of microplastic contamination remains elusive. Here, we investigated the occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in drinking-water samples collected from 22 self-distributed refill kiosks located in 14 multiuse urban parks spread across nine municipalities in Mexico City (Mexico). The results showed that microplastics were detected in all the samples, with an overall mean concentration of 74.18 ± 48.76 microplastics L. The abundance of microplastics was significantly different between sampled kiosks, ranging from 23 ± 11.31 to 202 ± 28.39 microplastics L. There were more fibrous microplastics (88%) than fragments (9%) and films (3%), with the majority (56%) being <200 μm in length. They were predominantly transparent (85%), with only a few being colored (15%; blue, red, green, and brown). Attenuated Total Reflection-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy further revealed microplastics of various polymer types, including polyvinyl alcohol, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl acetate, ethylene vinyl alcohol, acrylic, alkyd resin, and viscose. Based on our findings, drinking water from urban refill kiosks exposes children more than adults to microplastics. Furthermore, the steps that should be taken at urban refill kiosks to prevent microplastic pollution while offering recreational services to people have been highlighted. Therefore, this first study serves as a wake-up call to urban water management to improve the safety of water from emerging pollutants like microplastics in the infrastructure of refill kiosks.