Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research

Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research

Occurrence and Assessment of Human Exposure to Microplastic Particles in Bottled Water From Southwest, Nigeria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Oluwatosin Sarah Shokunbi 1
Ebunoluwa Elizabeth Akinbile 2
David Olaoluwa Jegede 1
Oluwawapelumi Adejoke Oyedele 3
Olutayo Sunday Shokunbi 2
1 Department of Basic Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
2 Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
3 Department of Microbiology, School of Science and Technology, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria
10.34172/jaehr.1372
Abstract
Background: The investigation of microplastics (MPs) in different environmental media is well documented; however, the prevalence and possible human health risks of MPs in bottled water are not fully understood.
Methods: This study was designed to (a) determine the quantity, form, color, and size of MPs, (b) evaluate the influence of physicochemical properties on the release of MPs in bottled water, and (c) estimate the daily intake (EDI) of MPs in eight distinct varieties of bottled water from Southwest Nigeria. The Rose Bengal staining method and microscopic analysis were employed to identify, quantify, and characterize the MPs.
Results: The bottled water brands from Southwest Nigeria contained MPs of various shapes, colors, and sizes. The average abundance of MPs was 15.2 ± 2.9 particles/L, with the highest abundance being 21.3 ± 1.8 particles/L. Fibers (82%) were the most detected shape of MPs, followed by fragments (18%), with transparent and blue being the two colors observed. Particle sizes ranged from 0.2 to 2.5 mm. The concentrations of MPs in the bottled water were strongly correlated (r = 0.789, P < 0.01) with the pH of the water samples. Adults had an estimated EDI of 0.31 to 0.66 particles/kg bw/day, while children’s EDI ranged from 1.13 to 2.36 particles/kg bw/day.
Conclusion: These findings provide insights for scientists to better understand the contamination of bottled water by MPs and help regulatory bodies formulate appropriate regulations for the production and bottling of drinking water.
Keywords
Microplastics
Drinking water
Human health risk
pH
Rose Bengal
Nigeria

Subjects

  1. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Marine Plastic Debris and Microplastics: Global Lessons and Research to Inspire Action and Guide Policy Change. UNEP; 2016.
  2. Plastics Europe. Plastics - The Facts 2021. 2022. An Analysis of European Plastics Production, Demand and Waste Data. Available from: https://plasticseurope.org/knowledge-hub/plastics-the-facts-2021/. Accessed February 15, 2023.
  3. Andrady AL. Microplastics in the marine environment. Mar Pollut Bull. 2011;62(8):1596-605. doi: 1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.030.
  4. Cole M, Lindeque P, Halsband C, Galloway TS. Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: a review. Mar Pollut Bull. 2011;62(12):2588-97. doi: 1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025.
  5. Dai L, Wang Z, Guo T, Hu L, Chen Y, Chen C, et al. Pollution characteristics and source analysis of microplastics in the Qiantang river in southeastern China. Chemosphere. 2022;293:133576. doi: 1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133576.
  6. Danopoulos E, Twiddy M, Rotchell JM. Microplastic contamination of drinking water: a systematic review. PLoS One. 2020;15(7):e0236838. doi: 1371/journal.pone.0236838.
  7. Van Cauwenberghe L, Claessens M, Vandegehuchte MB, Janssen CR. Microplastics are taken up by mussels (Mytilus edulis) and lugworms (Arenicola marina) living in natural habitats. Environ Pollut. 2015;199:10-7. doi: 1016/j.envpol.2015.01.008.
  8. Liebezeit G, Liebezeit E. Non-pollen particulates in honey and sugar. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2013;30(12):2136-40. doi: 1080/19440049.2013.843025.
  9. Shokunbi OS, Jegede DO, Shokunbi OS. A study of the microplastic contamination of commercial table salts: a case study in Nigeria. Environ Health Eng Manag. 2023;10(2):217-24. doi: 34172/ehem.2023.24.
  10. Kutralam-Muniasamy G, Pérez-Guevara F, Elizalde-Martínez I, Shruti VC. Branded milks - are they immune from microplastics contamination? Sci Total Environ. 2020;714:136823. doi: 1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136823.
  11. Ibeto CN, Enyoh CE, Ofomatah AC, Oguejiofor LA, Okafocha T, Okanya V. Microplastics pollution indices of bottled water from South Eastern Nigeria. Int J Environ Anal Chem. 2023;103(19):8176-95. doi: 1080/03067319.2021.1982926.
  12. Zhou XJ, Wang J, Li HY, Zhang HM, Hua J, Zhang DL. Microplastic pollution of bottled water in China. J Water Process Eng. 2021;40:101884. doi: 1016/j.jwpe.2020.101884.
  13. Tong H, Jiang Q, Hu X, Zhong X. Occurrence and identification of microplastics in tap water from China. Chemosphere. 2020;252:126493. doi: 1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126493.
  14. Barchiesi M, Chiavola A, Di Marcantonio C, Boni MR. Presence and fate of microplastics in the water sources: focus on the role of wastewater and drinking water treatment plants. J Water Process Eng. 2021;40:101787. doi: 1016/j.jwpe.2020.101787.
  15. Makhdoumi P, Amin AA, Karimi H, Pirsaheb M, Kim H, Hossini H. Occurrence of microplastic particles in the most popular Iranian bottled mineral water brands and an assessment of human exposure. J Water Process Eng. 2021;39:101708. doi: 1016/j.jwpe.2020.101708.
  16. Halden RU. Plastics and health risks. Annu Rev Public Health. 2010;31:179-94. doi: 1146/annurev.publhealth.012809.103714.
  17. Luo Q, Liu ZH, Yin H, Dang Z, Wu PX, Zhu NW, et al. Migration and potential risk of trace phthalates in bottled water: a global situation. Water Res. 2018;147:362-72. doi: 1016/j.watres.2018.10.002.
  18. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/455422/bottled-water-consumption-in-nigeria-per-capita/. Accessed August 20, 2023.
  19. Salazar-Beltrán D, Hinojosa-Reyes L, Palomino-Cabello C, Turnes-Palomino G, Hernández-Ramírez A, Guzmán-Mar JL. Determination of phthalate acid esters plasticizers in polyethylene terephthalate bottles and its correlation with some physicochemical properties. Polym Test. 2018;68:87-94. doi: 1016/j.polymertesting.2018.04.002.
  20. World Health Organization (WHO). Microplastics in Drinking-Water. Geneva: WHO; 2019.
  21. Akhbarizadeh R, Dobaradaran S, Schmidt TC, Nabipour I, Spitz J. Worldwide bottled water occurrence of emerging contaminants: a review of the recent scientific literature. J Hazard Mater. 2020;392:122271. doi: 1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122271.
  22. Kankanige D, Babel S. Smaller-sized micro-plastics (MPs) contamination in single-use PET-bottled water in Thailand. Sci Total Environ. 2020;717:137232. doi: 1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137232.
  23. Oßmann BE, Sarau G, Holtmannspötter H, Pischetsrieder M, Christiansen SH, Dicke W. Small-sized microplastics and pigmented particles in bottled mineral water. Water Res. 2018;141:307-16. doi: 1016/j.watres.2018.05.027.
  24. Zuccarello P, Ferrante M, Cristaldi A, Copat C, Grasso A, Sangregorio D, et al. Exposure to microplastics ( < 10 μm) associated to plastic bottles mineral water consumption: the first quantitative study. Water Res. 2019;157:365-71. doi: 1016/j.watres.2019.03.091.
  25. Lares M, Ncibi MC, Sillanpää M, Sillanpää M. Occurrence, identification and removal of microplastic particles and fibers in conventional activated sludge process and advanced MBR technology. Water Res. 2018;133:236-46. doi: 1016/j.watres.2018.01.049.
  26. Enyoh CE, Verla AW, Ohiagu FO, Enyoh EC. Progress and future perspectives of microplastic research in Nigeria. Int J Environ Anal Chem. 2023;103(9):1971-81. doi: 1080/03067319.2021.1887161.
  27. Praveena SM, Shamsul Ariffin NI, Nafisyah AL. Microplastics in Malaysian bottled water brands: occurrence and potential human exposure. Environ Pollut. 2022;315:120494. doi: 1016/j.envpol.2022.120494.
  28. Abdulmalik Ali MG. Presence and Characterization of Microplastics in Drinking (Tap/Bottled) Water and Soft Drinks [dissertation]. University of North Dakota; 2019.
  29. Samandra S, Mescall OJ, Plaisted K, Symons B, Xie S, Ellis AV, et al. Assessing exposure of the Australian population to microplastics through bottled water consumption. Sci Total Environ. 2022;837:155329. doi: 1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155329.
  30. Singh T. Generation of microplastics from the opening and closing of disposable plastic water bottles. J Water Health. 2021;19(3):488-98. doi: 2166/wh.2021.025.
  31. Parveen N, Ranjan VP, Chowdhury S, Goel S. Occurrence and potential health risks due to trihalomethanes and microplastics in bottled water. Environ Eng Sci. 2022;39(6):523-34. doi: 1089/ees.2021.0295.
  32. Almaiman L, Aljomah A, Bineid M, Aljeldah FM, Aldawsari F, Liebmann B, et al. The occurrence and dietary intake related to the presence of microplastics in drinking water in Saudi Arabia. Environ Monit Assess. 2021;193(7):390. doi: 1007/s10661-021-09132-9.
  33. Altunışık A. Microplastic pollution and human risk assessment in Turkish bottled natural and mineral waters. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023;30(14):39815-25. doi: 1007/s11356-022-25054-6.
  34. Kosuth M, Mason SA, Wattenberg EV. Anthropogenic contamination of tap water, beer, and sea salt. PLoS One. 2018;13(4):e0194970. doi: 1371/journal.pone.0194970.
  35. Schymanski D, Goldbeck C, Humpf HU, Fürst P. Analysis of microplastics in water by micro-Raman spectroscopy: release of plastic particles from different packaging into mineral water. Water Res. 2018;129:154-62. doi: 1016/j.watres.2017.11.011.
  36. Mason SA, Welch VG, Neratko J. Synthetic polymer contamination in bottled water. Front Chem. 2018;6:407. doi: 3389/fchem.2018.00407.
  37. Zheng M, Yu J. The effect of particle shape and size on cellular uptake. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2016;6(1):67-72. doi: 1007/s13346-015-0270-y.
  38. Oliver JF, Mason SG. Microspreading studies on rough surfaces by scanning electron microscopy. J Colloid Interface Sci. 1977;60(3):480-7. doi: 1016/0021-9797(77)90312-5.
  39. Wright SL, Kelly FJ. Plastic and human health: a micro issue? Environ Sci Technol. 2017;51(12):6634-47. doi: 1021/acs.est.7b00423.
  40. Shen M, Zeng Z, Wen X, Ren X, Zeng G, Zhang Y, et al. Presence of microplastics in drinking water from freshwater sources: the investigation in Changsha, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021;28(31):42313-24. doi: 1007/s11356-021-13769-x.
  41. Kirstein IV, Hensel F, Gomiero A, Iordachescu L, Vianello A, Wittgren HB, et al. Drinking plastics? - Quantification and qualification of microplastics in drinking water distribution systems by µFTIR and Py-GCMS. Water Res. 2021;188:116519. doi: 1016/j.watres.2020.116519.
Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research
Volume 13, Issue 1
Winter 2025
Pages 60-67