Hi all…following up from the WHO report on microplastics that I recently circulated, the UK Water Industry Research Limited has just released a report entitled “Sink to River – River to Tap – A review of potential risks from nano-particles & microplastics.” Their findings are making for a generally good news story: “The results of the project found that for WATER, >99.99% of microplastic particles are removed through the treatment processes, with raw water having an average of 4.9 microplastic particles/L and potable water having on average 0.00011 microplastic particles/L. For WASTEWATER, the treatment processes were able to remove 99.9% of the microplastic particles with levels of 5.1 microplastic particles/litre being found in final effluent. As a consequence of the removal rates of microplastic particles through both water and wastewater treatment processes, these materials are present at very low levels in drinking water and in discharges to the environment.”
It is available for free download at: https://ukwir.org/view/$NvDnwfm!?&Email_Campaign_Mail=906255
Bill
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UK WATER INDUSTRY RESEARCH LIMITED SINK TO RIVER – RIVER TO TAP: A REVIEW OF POTENTIAL RISKS FROM NANOPARTICLES AND MICROPLASTICS
Executive Summary
Objectives and Approach “The primary objective of this study was to inform the UK and Irish water companies on the levels of microplastic particles present in raw and treated water, wastewater & treated effluent, and the sludges produced by their treatment works. The secondary objective was to develop a robust sampling and detection methodology to allow the quantification of microplastic particles at a range of different points within the water environment and the water industry’s infrastructure. It should be noted that prior to this project no standardised methods or reference materials were available. To ensure a representative overview – samples were taken from eight water treatment works (WTW) and eight wastewater treatment works (WwTW) from different companies across Great Britain…The project devoted significant effort to understand, quantify and correct for microplastic contamination during sampling and analysis to ensure confidence in the results. An additional objective was to re-examine a report from 2011 on the likelihood of nanoparticles entering potable water…”
Conclusions: “A robust process for sample collection and analysis is vital to ensure accurate results, and while standard methods are not yet available, this project ensured the highest quality was maintained through the collection and laboratory analytical stages; the use of very large sample volumes for potable water (>100 litres) gave confidence in the sensitivity of the method and accuracy of the results obtained. The results of the project found that for WATER, >99.99% of microplastic particles are removed through the treatment processes, with raw water having an average of 4.9 microplastic particles/litre and potable water having on average 0.00011 microplastic particles/litre. For WASTEWATER, the treatment processes were able to remove 99.9% of the microplastic particles with levels of 5.1 microplastic particles/litre being found in final effluent. As a consequence of the removal rates of microplastic particles through both water and wastewater treatment processes, these materials are present at very low levels in drinking water and in discharges to the environment. For SLUDGE, as a consequence of the removal rates of microplastic particles through both water and wastewater treatment processes, they are present in sludge, with levels of 2,000 – 4,000 microplastic particles/g dry weight of sludge being typically found.”
