Tiny plastic bits contaminate bottled water sold around the world, a new study finds.
Researchers tested more than 250 bottles of water.
Mason and her team tested the water on behalf of Orb Media, a nonprofit journalism group based in the United States.
Tiny bits of plastic have turned up in rivers, lakes and oceans.
Other microplastic beads go in some toothpastes and skin-care products.
The most common type of plastic that Mason and her team found in bottled water was polypropylene (Pah-lee-PROH-puh-leen).
So how do they get into bottled water?
And earlier studies had found plastic bits could come out in tap water.
The new study is the first to find microplastics in bottled water, its authors say.
In fact, Mason notes, her team found at least twice as many particles in bottled water as earlier tests had found in tap water.