Orb Media’s recent study titled "Microplastics Found In Global Bottled Water" reinforces what doctor Michael Vaughn recommends to his patients.
Dr. Vaughn swore off the product after taking a trip to a local bottling company.
Up until recently she’s been drinking them, even after the sun has heated the plastic.
"I’m switching to tap," said Beverly Callaway.
After testing more than 250 bottles from 11 brands of water, Orb Media found that one single bottle can hold thousands of microscopic plastic particles.
Essentially, the study showed that 93% of the water bottle samples contained microplastics.
Orb Media found the highest level of microplastics in a Nestle Pure Life sample, which had 10,390 particles per liter (PPL).
What else are you getting that aren’t particles that you can’t see with the fluorescing?"
Dr. Vaughn wondered aloud.
While there’s no evidence that consuming microplastics has an adverse effect on human health, it’s a growing area of concern and known environmental pollutant, NCBI researchers say.

Project Orb Media, a nonprofit, global journalism organization focusing on food, water, energy, health, education, environment, trade and governance, commissioned scientists at the State University of New York in Fredonia to analyze bottled water.
The study found that a single bottle of water can contain dozens or possibly even thousands of microscopic plastic particles.
Researchers performed tests on 259 individual bottles from 27 different lots across 11 brands purchased from 19 locations in 9 countries.
Preliminary tests found an average of 10.4 tiny plastic particles in each one-liter water bottle.
Further testing with a microscope and fluorescent dye detected approximately 315 microparticles per bottle, which the scientists believe are plastic as well.
In an unrelated study commissioned by an awareness and activism group called The Story of Stuff Project, Ocean Analytics analyzed 19 different bottled water brands for microparticle contamination.
“Although we don’t fully understand yet the health implications of consuming microplastic,” Abigail Barrows of Ocean Analytics told The Story of Stuff, “the preliminary results of this study show that people are directly ingesting plastic particles when drinking most types of bottled water.” Orb Media performed another study, again commissioning researchers from The State University of New York at Fredonia, testing drinking water from another source: taps.
“There are certain commons that connect us all to each other,” Sherri A. Mason, Ph.D. of the State University of New York at Fredonia told Orb Media, “air, water, soil, and what we have universally found time and time again is if you contaminate any of those commons, it gets in everything.” “As part of our continuous review of new evidence on water quality, we will review the very scarce available evidence with the objective of identifying evidence gaps, and establishing a research agenda to inform a more thorough risk assessment,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the National Post.
BPA, a synthetic compound found in some plastics, has been shown to have possible effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.
There is also a possible link between BPA and increased blood pressure.

Multiple studies have found that a large proportion of microplastic particles in our oceans, lakes and rivers can be traced back to the washing of synthetic clothes.
In one of the largest investigations of its kind, researchers at the State University of New York recently tested bottled water from the world’s major brands sold in nine countries, including India, and found them all to contain tiny particles of plastic, each no larger than the width of human hair.
The discovery that plastic pollution has become so pervasive as to contaminate even water that is specially treated and packaged in plastic bottles the world over as safe drinking water is cause for concern.
For them, bottled water is a necessary evil.
This is most important in the case of the bottled water industry in India, where the demand for bottled water is growing at a much faster rate than that for carbonated drinks.
In the last five years alone, the industry has more than doubled in worth to Rs 16,000 crore.
Yet, it remains a loosely regulated industry with hundreds of big and small brands vying for a share of the metro and small-town markets.
According to information made available to Parliament during its recent session, a survey of packaged water units by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) during 2016-17 revealed that three out 10 units of so-called mineral water sold in the country were not conforming to Indian safety standards.
This should be a cause of concern, given the potential impact on public health.
Immediate action to clean up the bottled water we drink is called for.

When many Weyburn residents woke up Wednesday morning, they found themselves without water as a result of a water main break which severely depleted the city’s reservoir.
The city issued a precautionary boil water advisory for when the water service was restored, and also asked residents to minimize their use to essential needs only.
As a result of the lack of water, many in Weyburn found themselves heading out to get bottled water to tide them over for the time being.
M.D.
Convenience, a small store on 3rd Street in downtown Weyburn, found themselves steadily busy from 7:00 a.m., when they opened, on.
Starting the day with roughly 75 large jugs of water, they soon found themselves with less than a third of what they started the day with.
“We’ve been trying to keep up, but it’s been crazy busy with people coming in and getting water, because nobody has water,” said Joanne, a cashier at the store.
Similar scenes were being played out at stores throughout the city.
City crews are anticipating the water will be restored by noon on Wednesday.

And the numbers do not stay idle.
From 2014 to 2017 due to an increasing concern regarding various health problems caused by consumption of contaminated water, the global bottled market grew from $170.6 billion to $238.5 billion following 8.74% yearly growth, states the report on the Bottled Water Market 2018 from The Business Research Company.
By value the market is going to reach $349 billion by 2021 following 10% yearly growth.
The volume’s growth will be a bit lower, but not by a significant number, at 9.3% yearly growth to reach 623 billion liters by 2021.
The consumption of the bottled water in 2017 was the highest in the Asia Pacific region accounting for 42% of the global bottled water consumption.
Following the health awareness trend, bottled water consumers in the Asia Pacific region are also increasingly adopting new products with health benefits, such as functional water, which added functional value in the form of minerals, oxygen and vitamins.
Data segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.
The Business Research Company is a market research and intelligence company which excels in company, market and consumer research.
It has research professionals at its office in the UK, India, and the US as well a network of trained researchers globally.
The Business Research Company’s management have more than 20 years of varied business research experience.

While China remains one of the biggest bottled water markets globally, research has shown that retail volume sales are on the decline, according to global market intelligence business Mintel.
In 2017, China’s bottled water market was forecast to reach sales volume of 27 billion litres, up from 25 billion in 2015.
However, sales volume growth has dipped from 5 per cent in 2015 to 4.2 per cent in 2017, and is predicted to fall further to 2.8 per cent by 2021.
The findings show that the expansion of bottled water has been relatively fast, with per capita consumption increasing from 5 litres in 2007 to 20 litres in 2017.
This is low in comparison compared to more developed markets such as Mexico (222 litres per capita) and the US (120 litres per capita).
Loris Li, associate director of Food and Drink at Mintel, said: “Due to trends in premiumisation, China’s bottled water industry has seen rapid growth over the past decade.
However, it was only a matter of time before market saturation started inhibiting growth potential for bottled water brands, especially amidst intensified competition in the wider beverage market.
With more Chinese consumers drinking bottled water, brands are under pressure to differentiate themselves from rivals.
Despite a saturated market, innovation opportunities still exist, and premiumisation remains key for value market growth.” Mintel’s research shows that half of Chinese consumers aged 20-49 drank unflavoured sparkling water in 2016, up from 29 per cent in 2015.
Furthermore, three in five drank flavoured sparkling water in 2016, an increase from 30 per cent in 2015.

According to the study done by Orb Media and State University of New York at Fredonia, 93 percent of the 250 bottles tested were contaminated with microplastics.
However, some bottles had concentrations as high as 10,000 plastic pieces for every liter of water.
The brands tested were Aqua, Aquafina, Bisleri, Dasani, Epura, Evian, Gerolsteiner, Minalba, Nestle´ Pure Life, San Pellegrino and Wahaha.
They sourced the bottles from 11 different countries.
However, according to Fox 28, the study has not been published in a journal and it has not been through scientific peer review.
International Bottled Water Association President and CEO Joe Doss criticized the findings, saying that the “non-peer reviewed study” aims to “do nothing more than unnecessarily scare consumers,” USA Today reported.
But SUNY Fredonia chemistry professor Sherri Mason, one of the study’s researchers, said it’s a concerning development that deserves closer scrutiny.
“It’s not about pointing fingers at particular brands; it’s really showing that this is everywhere, that plastic has become such a pervasive material in our society, and it’s pervading water – all of these products that we consume at a very basic level,” Mason told BBC.
In response to the study, the World Health Organization confirmed to BBC that it will be launching a new investigation to review the potential risks of plastic in drinking water.
An unrelated study conducted by the campaign group Story of Stuff tested 19 major water brands in the U.S. and found that microfibers were widespread as well.

However, a new study from nonprofit journalism organization Orb Media and State University of New York at Fredonia researchers found that drinking from a plastic water bottle likely means sipping microplastic particles with just about every mouthful.
Tests, which confirmed the presence of plastic using an industry-standard infrared microscope, revealed plastic contaminants including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon and polypropylene.
Bluewater recently released its own survey, which showed that 56 percent of Americans worry that their drinking water contains harmful contaminants including plastic, carcinogens and lead.
The survey also found that nearly 70 percent of Americans rely on bottled water in some capacity, with nearly 33 percent of them gulping down more than five bottles of water per week.
Last year, Orb Media released a study which found that virtually all of the world’s tap water is contaminated by microplastic fibers.
However, Orb Media’s latest findings in plastic water bottles may have many people wondering – is any fresh water safe to drink?
Microplastic and your health: Why you should worry According to Orb, these findings suggest that anyone who downs a liter of bottled water daily could potentially be consuming tens of thousands of microplastics annually.
Orb Media’s latest study has prompted the WHO to review the potential risks of drinking plastic-contaminated water, the Guardian reported.
“[Based on Orb Media’s recent studies], the absolute majority of all water that we as consumers drink contains microplastics and also other contaminants,” Jacobson said.
“We have to find ways to consume water in a sustainable way that takes both human and planetary health into consideration,” he said.

It turns out there may be something in those store-bought bottles that’s worth worrying about as well.
Project Orb Media, a nonprofit, global journalism organization focusing on food, water, energy, health, education, environment, trade and governance, commissioned scientists at the State University of New York in Fredonia to analyze bottled water.
The brands tested were: Aqua (Danone) Aquafina (PepsiCo) Bisleri (Bisleri International) Dasani (Coca-Cola) Epura (PepsiCo) Evian (Danone) Gerolsteiner (Gerolsteiner Brunnen) Minalba (Grupo Edson Queiroz) Nestlé Pure Life (Nestlé) San Pellegrino (Nestlé) Wahaha (Hangzhou Wahaha Group) Preliminary tests found an average of 10.4 tiny plastic particles in each one-liter water bottle.
The research determined that Boxed Water, Evian, Fiji and Ozarka had the highest levels of plastic microfiber contamination.
“Although we don’t fully understand yet the health implications of consuming microplastic,” Abigail Barrows of Ocean Analytics told The Story of Stuff, “the preliminary results of this study show that people are directly ingesting plastic particles when drinking most types of bottled water.” Not Just Bottled Water Orb Media performed another study, again commissioning researchers from The State University of New York at Fredonia, testing drinking water from another source: taps.
More than 80 percent of the samples collected on five continents tested positive for the presence of plastic.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched its own review of these recent findings.
A spokesperson stated that the organization is aware of this emerging area of concern even though there is not yet evidence of an effect on human health.
“As part of our continuous review of new evidence on water quality, we will review the very scarce available evidence with the objective of identifying evidence gaps, and establishing a research agenda to inform a more thorough risk assessment,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to the National Post.
BPA, a synthetic compound found in some plastics, has been shown to have possible effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.

FOLLOWING numerous complaints, Aena is set to force stores to reduce the prices of bottled water in all of Spain’s airports.
According to reports, the airport manager will ensure that all vending machines and convenience stores provide small bottles of water for a maximum price of one euro.
Shops will have to provide 33 centilitre bottles whereas vending machines must stock half-litre bottles for the same price.
Currently 19 stores in seven airports – Madrid-Barajas, Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao, Tenerife Sur, Santiago, Vigo and Girona-Costa Brava – follow the new rules, with another 16 in the process of changing their prices in Madrid-Barajas, Alicante-Elche, Valencia, Barcelona-El Prat and Malaga-Costa del Sol.
134 vending machines in six airports – Tenerife Sur, Gran Canaria, Fuerteaventura, Leon, Vitoria and Salamanca – provide the half-litre bottles and going forwards all machines must have at least 50 per cent of the water on offer in them at the new price.