Utilizing it usually introduces tens of 1000’s of microplastic and nanoplastic particles into the physique annually.
The tropical fantastic thing about Thailand’s Phi Phi islands is just not the type of place the place most PhD journeys start. For Sarah Sajedi, nevertheless, it was not the seashores themselves however what lay beneath them that sparked her determination to depart a profession in enterprise and pursue tutorial analysis.
“I used to be standing there looking at this attractive view of the Andaman Sea, after which I regarded down and beneath my toes have been all these items of plastic, most of them water bottles,” she says.
“I’ve at all times had a ardour for waste discount, however I noticed that this was an issue with consumption.”
Sajedi, BSc ’91, determined to return to Concordia to pursue a PhD with a concentrate on plastic waste. Because the co-founder of ERA Environmental Administration Options, a number one supplier of environmental, well being, and security software program, she introduced a long time of expertise to go with her research.
Her newest paper, revealed within the Journal of Hazardous Supplies, appears on the science across the well being dangers posed by single-use plastic water bottles. They’re severe, she says, and severely understudied.
Sarah Sajedi with Chunjiang An: “Consuming water from plastic bottles is okay in an emergency however it isn’t one thing that needs to be utilized in every day life.”
Tiny threats, little recognized
In her evaluation of greater than 140 scientific papers, Sajedi experiences that individuals ingest an estimated 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles annually. For individuals who depend on bottled water, that quantity climbs even greater—about 90,000 extra particles in comparison with people who primarily drink faucet water.
These particles are invisible to the attention. Microplastics vary in measurement from one micron (a thousandth of a millimeter) to 5 millimeters, whereas nanoplastics are smaller than a single micron.
They’re launched as plastic bottles are manufactured, saved, transported, and progressively degrade. As a result of many bottles are constituted of low-grade plastic, they shed particles each time they’re dealt with or uncovered to daylight and modifications in temperature. Not like plastics that transfer by the meals chain earlier than coming into the human physique, these are consumed straight from the container itself.
In accordance with Sajedi, the well being dangers are important. As soon as contained in the physique, these small plastics can move by organic boundaries, enter the bloodstream, and attain main organs. Their presence could contribute to persistent irritation, mobile oxidative stress, hormone disruption, reproductive points, neurological injury, and a few cancers. Nonetheless, their long-term impacts will not be absolutely understood, largely due to restricted testing and the absence of standardized methods to measure and monitor them.
Sajedi additionally outlines the vary of strategies accessible to detect nano- and microplastics, every with advantages and limitations. Some approaches can find particles at extraordinarily small scales however can’t reveal their chemical make-up. Others determine the fabric composition however overlook the tiniest plastics. Probably the most subtle and reliable instruments are sometimes prohibitively costly and never extensively accessible.
Training is the very best prevention
Sajedi is inspired by the legislative motion that has been adopted by governments all over the world geared toward limiting plastic waste. Nonetheless, she notes that the most typical targets are single-use plastic baggage, straws, and packaging. Only a few handle the urgent concern of single-use water bottles.
“Training is crucial motion we are able to take,” she says. “Consuming water from plastic bottles is okay in an emergency however it isn’t one thing that needs to be utilized in every day life. Folks want to grasp that the difficulty is just not acute toxicity—it’s persistent toxicity.”
Reference: “Unveiling the hidden persistent well being dangers of nano- and microplastics in single-use plastic water bottles: A evaluate” by Sarah Sajedi, Chunjiang An and Zhi Chen, 14 June 2025, Journal of Hazardous Supplies.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138948
Funding: Pure Sciences and Engineering Analysis Council of Canada
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