Papers

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Article Tier 2

Performance of Conventional Drinking Water Treatment Plants in Removing Microplastics in East Java, Indonesia

This Indonesian study tested two conventional drinking water treatment plants in East Java for their ability to remove microplastics, finding that full multi-stage treatment achieved significant reduction but did not eliminate all particles. The results show that conventional water treatment partially protects consumers but may not prevent all microplastic ingestion through drinking water.

2023 Journal of Ecological Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracking Microplastics Contamination in Drinking Water Supply Chain in Haikou, China: From Source to Household Taps

Researchers tracked microplastic contamination throughout the entire drinking water supply chain in Haikou, China, from source water to household taps. They found that while water treatment reduced some microplastic content, treated water actually showed higher concentrations than raw water, suggesting contamination during the treatment process itself. The study provides a health risk assessment indicating that microplastic exposure through tap water warrants continued monitoring.

2024 Toxics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of microplastics and their removal efficiency in drinking water treatment plants in tropical areas: a case study of the Dago Pakar drinking water treatment plant, Bandung, Indonesia

This case study tracked microplastics through different treatment stages at a drinking water plant in Bandung, Indonesia, finding that plastic levels were higher during the rainy season and that particle sizes between 300-1000 micrometers dominated. The treatment plant reduced microplastic counts, but the study assessed how effectively each treatment step performed across seasons and times of day. The findings contribute to understanding how well conventional water treatment removes microplastics in tropical developing-country settings, where infrastructure may differ from Western facilities.

2025 Water Science & Technology Water Supply 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence of microplastics in drinking water from freshwater sources: the investigation in Changsha, China

Researchers measured microplastic abundance at multiple stages of a drinking water supply chain in Changsha, China — from source freshwater through treatment to household taps — finding that water treatment reduced MP concentrations by more than 85% but tap water still contained an average of 344 particles per liter.

2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 168 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating microplastics at two drinking water treatment plants within a river catchment

Researchers tracked microplastics through each treatment stage at two Czech drinking water treatment plants on the same river, finding that the downstream plant received far higher raw water concentrations (1,296 vs. 23 particles/L) and that current treatment reduced but did not eliminate microplastics from finished drinking water.

2023
Article Tier 2

Transport, Behavior, and Human Exposure of Microplastics in Rural Drinking Water Supply Chains

Researchers tracked microplastic distribution, transport, and human exposure risk through rural drinking water supply chains in China, finding MPs present throughout the system from source water to tap, with concentration changes at each treatment and distribution stage.

2025 Environment & Health
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Removal in Water Treatment System: A Study of Baghdad’s Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Plants

Researchers analyzed microplastic levels at inlets and outlets of two drinking water plants and two wastewater plants in Baghdad, Iraq, characterizing particles by color, shape, size, and composition to assess treatment efficiency and identify residual contamination in treated water.

2025 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

Microplastic removal efficiency in a megacity water treatment plant and dynamics in the distribution system

This study tracked microplastics through a megacity drinking water treatment plant and urban distribution network, finding significant MP removal through treatment but detecting residual contamination in distributed water, raising public health concerns in rapidly growing urban areas.

2025 Environmental Technology & Innovation
Article Tier 2

Tracking microplastics in a drinking water supply system proximity to industrial facilities: Occurrence, source identification, and risk assessment

Researchers comprehensively investigated microplastic occurrence, sources, and health risks in a drinking water supply system near industrial facilities, finding that a granular activated carbon filter removed 93.39% of microplastics at the treatment plant. However, microplastic abundance increased during distribution, highlighting post-treatment contamination as a critical but underappreciated exposure pathway.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Study of Microplastic Concentrations at the Drinking Water Depot in Sumbersari Village, Jember Regency

Researchers measured microplastic contamination in 12 refillable drinking water depots in Sumbersari, Indonesia, finding an average concentration of 7.1 particles per liter, mostly fibers and fragments. Consumers were estimated to ingest between 5.61 and 15.98 microplastic particles per liter per day.

2024 JURNAL KESEHATAN LINGKUNGAN Jurnal dan Aplikasi Teknik Kesehatan Lingkungan
Article Tier 2

Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in drinking water treatment plants, distribution systems, water from refill kiosks, tap waters and bottled waters

This review summarizes research on microplastic contamination across the entire drinking water supply chain, from treatment plants to tap water and bottled water. Microplastics were found at every stage, with concentrations varying widely depending on location and treatment methods. The findings highlight that people are regularly consuming microplastics through their drinking water, though more standardized research is needed to fully understand the health implications.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracking microplastics contamination in drinking water in Zahedan, Iran: From source to consumption taps

Researchers tracked microplastic contamination through the entire drinking water system in Zahedan, Iran, from raw water sources to household taps. While water treatment plants removed 64-75% of microplastics, tap water actually contained more microplastics than the treated water, likely due to contamination from pipes and plumbing. Children were estimated to consume more microplastics per body weight than adults, highlighting concerns about drinking water as a source of microplastic exposure.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Depth-wise Distribution of Microplastics Around Teluk Lerong Intake, the Mahakam River: Implications for Water Treatment Processes

Researchers assessed the depth-wise distribution, abundance, size, and polymer types of microplastics in the water column of the Mahakam River at the Teluk Lerong intake in Samarinda City, Indonesia, using composite sampling and multi-stage filtration with FTIR analysis. The study found microplastics present across all sampled depth levels, with implications for the treatment processes used by the regional drinking water company sourcing water from this intake.

2025 Nature Environment and Pollution Technology
Article Tier 2

Impact of Drinking Water Treatment on Removal of Microplastics

Microplastics were measured throughout six drinking water treatment facilities using Raman spectroscopy and found at concentrations ranging widely in source water, with treatment processes achieving substantial but incomplete removal.

2024 TSpace
Article Tier 2

Fate of microplastics in the drinking water production

Researchers tracked the fate of microplastics through drinking water treatment processes, finding that conventional treatment steps like coagulation, sedimentation, and filtration removed the majority of microplastics but did not eliminate them entirely.

2022 Water Research 157 citations
Article Tier 2

Tracing microplastics from raw water to drinking water treatment plants in Busan, South Korea

Researchers traced microplastic contamination from raw water sources through drinking water treatment plants in Busan, South Korea. They found that while treatment processes removed a significant portion of microplastics, some particles still made it through to the finished drinking water. The study highlights the need for improved water treatment technologies to better address microplastic contamination in tap water.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic contamination in drinking water from an italian plant: An analytical study

Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination at multiple treatment stages in a drinking water plant in northern Italy that processes turbid river water supplemented with groundwater, quantifying particles through sedimentation, flocculation, sand filtration, activated carbon adsorption, and disinfection stages.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Analysis of microplastic abundance in Brantas river, East Java

Researchers measured microplastic abundance at three stations along the Brantas River in East Java — upstream (Batu City), midstream (Nganjuk), and downstream (Sidoarjo) — finding concentrations ranging from 0.66 to 0.88 particles/L, with the highest levels downstream. Water quality parameters remained within Indonesian regulatory standards, but the findings highlight microplastic accumulation in a major drinking water source.

2024 AIP conference proceedings 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of microplastics in raw and treated drinking water

Researchers analyzed raw and treated water from three water treatment plants and found microplastics in all samples, though treatment reduced particle counts by roughly 70 to 80 percent. The vast majority of detected particles were smaller than 10 micrometers, a size range often missed by other studies. The findings highlight that while water treatment removes most microplastics, very small particles can still pass through conventional filtration systems.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 1073 citations
Article Tier 2

Removal of microplastics via drinking water treatment: Current knowledge and future directions

This review examines what is currently known about microplastics in drinking water systems and how well existing water treatment processes remove them. Researchers found that while conventional treatment steps like coagulation and filtration do reduce microplastic levels, significant amounts can still persist through to tap water. The study calls for more research into optimizing treatment processes and developing monitoring strategies specifically targeting microplastic contamination in drinking water.

2020 Chemosphere 386 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification of microplastics in conventional drinking water treatment plants in Tehran, Iran

Researchers identified microplastics in three conventional drinking water treatment plants in Tehran, Iran, finding that standard treatment processes do not fully eliminate particles down to 1 micron in size, raising concerns about microplastic exposure through tap water.

2021 Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Transportation in a Typical Drinking Water Supply: From Raw Water to Household Water

Researchers tracked microplastics through an entire drinking water system, from the source water to household taps, and found that treatment plants actually increased microplastic counts rather than removing them. The treated water contained 12 to 25 particles per liter, with most being tiny fragments under 100 micrometers made of common plastics like PET and PVC. This suggests that current water treatment infrastructure may be shedding microplastics from its own pipes and filters into the water people drink.

2024 Water 17 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics in water, from treatment process to drinking water: analytical methods and potential health effects

This systematic review examines how microplastics travel through the water treatment process from raw water sources to your tap and bottled water. The researchers present methods for detecting these particles and assess potential health impacts of drinking microplastic-contaminated water. The findings suggest that current water treatment may not fully remove microplastics, meaning ongoing low-level exposure through drinking water is likely.

2022 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to Nano- and Microplastic Contamination in Treated Water in Mahasarakham Province

This study measured nano- and microplastic contamination in treated drinking water in Mahasarakham Province, Thailand, assessing the extent to which water treatment effectively removes plastic particles. Both nano- and microplastics were detected in treated water, indicating incomplete removal by current treatment processes.

2024 Water Resources