While vacationing on Thailand’s stunning Phi Phi Island, Sarah Sajedi was captivated by the crystal-clear waters of the Andaman Sea. But a closer look at the pristine white sand revealed a troubling reality: it was littered with plastic waste, much of it fragments from discarded bottles.
This eye-opening experience prompted Sajedi, a former cofounder of an environmental software company with a longstanding interest in waste reduction, to shift careers. She enrolled as a doctoral student at Concordia University in Canada, where she conducted an extensive review of more than 140 scientific studies on the human health impacts of plastic bottles.
Her findings are alarming: On average, people ingest between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles each year through food and drinking water. However, those who rely on bottled water daily consume an extra 90,000 microplastic particles annually.
“Using plastic bottles for drinking water is acceptable in emergencies, but it shouldn’t be a daily habit,” Sajedi warns. “Even without immediate health effects, we must consider the risk of long-term damage.”
Unclear Long-Term Health Impacts
Microplastics are tiny plastic fragments measuring 1 micrometer (one-thousandth of a millimeter) to 5 millimeters, while even smaller nanoplastics are under 1 micrometer. These invisible particles shed from bottles during production, storage, transport, and breakdown.
Lower-quality plastics are especially vulnerable, releasing debris when exposed to sunlight, heat fluctuations, or handling. Unlike microplastics that accumulate in the food chain, those from bottled water enter the body directly.
Once ingested, these particles can penetrate the bloodstream, reaching critical organs. This may cause ongoing inflammation, oxidative stress on cells, disruptions to hormones and reproduction, nervous system damage, and increased cancer risks. Despite these concerns, long-term effects remain uncertain due to limited research and inconsistent detection methods.
Current techniques for identifying micro- and nanoplastics vary in strengths—some excel at spotting tiny particles but can’t identify their chemistry, while others do the opposite. High-precision equipment is costly and inaccessible to many researchers, hampering global standardized studies.
Lack of Regulation on Plastic Bottles
Worldwide efforts to curb plastic pollution focus mostly on items like bags, straws, and packaging. Single-use bottles, however, face minimal oversight despite their direct health implications.
Although some areas in the US and Canada are introducing measures, a comprehensive international framework is lacking.
Plastic pollution extends beyond environmental harm—it’s a public health issue. Safe drinking water is a fundamental right, yet sustainable alternatives to bottled water are essential for the future.
Sajedi’s journey, sparked by polluted beaches in paradise, highlights the hidden dangers of microplastics and calls for greater societal awareness and change.
Original article from WIRED Japan (translated from Japanese).
Attribution: Based on the reporting and research featured in the WIRED article highlighting Sarah Sajedi’s study.
