Bottled Water Contains Large Amounts , of Plastic Particles, Researchers Say.<br />Columbia University and Rutgers University researchers tested three brands <br />of bottled water, NPR reports.<br />240,000 plastic fragments were detected <br />in a standard liter of bottled water.<br />Of those detected fragments, 10% were microplastics and 90% were nanoplastics.<br />While microplastics have previously <br />been detected in humans' lungs, <br />excrement, blood, placentas and more.<br />nanoplastics could be <br />more dangerous, NPR reports.<br />That's because "the smaller it goes, the easier for it to be misidentified as the natural component of the cell," .<br />according to Wei Min, a professor at <br />Columbia University and study co-author.<br />Although researchers previously knew that bottled water contained nanoplastics, .<br />"if you can't quantify them or can't make a visual of them, it's hard to believe that they're actually there," study co-author and Rutgers University professor Phoebe Stapleton says.<br />Researchers hope that their work will <br />shed light on just how much plastic humans <br />regularly consume and the effects it may cause.<br />The study was published <br />in the 'Proceedings of the National <br />Academy of Sciences' on Jan. 8, NPR reports.
