The cause of microplastics
The term microplastics brings together a wide variety of materials that can occur in water in the most diverse colors, shapes and sizes. Probably the most common basic definition of microplastics is described as «particles smaller than 5 mm». For a size smaller than 1 micron, the literature also likes to use the term «nanoplastics». In principle it is divided into two categories. Primary microplastics come directly from our industry and are already the size of microplastics. Primary microplastics include, for example, the fillers that are often used in shampoos or cosmetics. Abrasives also contain microplastics. Secondary microplastics include plastic that has entered the environment through abrasion or through the release from larger pieces of plastic (e.g. from PET bottles).
How microplastics can get into drinking water
Microplastics can be transported through the air and settle on our soils with the rain. Even if the subsoil acts as a filter layer, microplastics find their way through the subsoil down into our groundwater. This is shown by measurements from Germany that examined groundwater for microplastics. What is certain, however, is that microplastics mainly get into our drinking water via the waterway. Once microplastics are in the water, they also like to accumulate. Depending on their density, they sink to the bottom of the body of water or float on top.
Water treatment plants filter out microplastics, depending on the development standard of the catchment. Nevertheless, the WHO points to studies that were also able to detect microplastics in drinking water. It is suspected that the switch to plastic components for drinking water installations also plays its part.
Where the ignorance begins
Although the WHO report currently classifies the risk of a health burden from microplastics as «of little concern», the BUT in the statement should definitely be mentioned as well. The report points out that especially for particles smaller than 50 microns there is an uncertain data situation, and therefore no statement about the health burden should be made on that basis.
drinkpure also filters nanoplastics
True to the motto «a picture is worth a thousand words», we've shown you this fact as an image. It shows two plastic spheres with a diameter of 0.5 microns. Like a sieve, the spheres are caught by the smaller membrane pores and thus filtered out. Of course, this image was taken with an electron microscope, because only this way can we capture these tiny little spheres for you.
Thanks to the highly porous membrane, drinkpure has been proven to filter out over 99% of microplastics. Of course we've attached our >test report on microplastics.
drinkpure also filters other substances out of the water. Here you'll find an overview of what DrinkPure can filter.