IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0236838.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Microplastic contamination of drinking water: A systematic review

Author

Listed:
  • Evangelos Danopoulos
  • Maureen Twiddy
  • Jeanette M Rotchell

Abstract

Background: Microplastics (MPs) are omnipresent in the environment, including the human food chain; a likely important contributor to human exposure is drinking water. Objective: To undertake a systematic review of MP contamination of drinking water and estimate quantitative exposures. Methods: The protocol for the systematic review employed has been published in PROSPERO (PROSPERO 2019, Registration number: CRD42019145290). MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched from launch to the 3rd of June 2020, selecting studies that used procedural blank samples and a validated method for particle composition analysis. Studies were reviewed within a narrative analysis. A bespoke risk of bias (RoB) assessment tool was used. Results: 12 studies were included in the review: six of tap water (TW) and six of bottled water (BW). Meta-analysis was not appropriate due to high statistical heterogeneity (I2>95%). Seven studies were rated low RoB and all confirmed MP contamination of drinking water. The most common polymers identified in samples were polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP), Methodological variability was observed throughout the experimental protocols. For example, the minimum size of particles extracted and analysed, which varied from 1 to 100 μm, was seen to be critical in the data reported. The maximum reported MP contamination was 628 MPs/L for TW and 4889 MPs/L for BW, detected in European samples. Based on typical consumption data, this may be extrapolated to a maximum yearly human adult uptake of 458,000 MPs for TW and 3,569,000 MPs for BW. Conclusions: This is the first systematic review that appraises the quality of existing evidence on MP contamination of drinking water and estimates human exposures. The precautionary principle should be adopted to address concerns on possible human health effects from consumption of MPs. Future research should aim to standardise experimental protocols to aid comparison and elevate quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Evangelos Danopoulos & Maureen Twiddy & Jeanette M Rotchell, 2020. "Microplastic contamination of drinking water: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0236838
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236838
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236838
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236838&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0236838?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Viechtbauer, Wolfgang, 2010. "Conducting Meta-Analyses in R with the metafor Package," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 36(i03).
    2. Laurent Lebreton & Anthony Andrady, 2019. "Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Branka Vojnović & Petra Mihovilović & Nino Dimitrov, 2024. "Approaches for Sampling and Sample Preparation for Microplastic Analysis in Laundry Effluents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-27, April.
    2. Andreas Brachner & Despina Fragouli & Iola F. Duarte & Patricia M. A. Farias & Sofia Dembski & Manosij Ghosh & Ivan Barisic & Daniela Zdzieblo & Jeroen Vanoirbeek & Philipp Schwabl & Winfried Neuhaus, 2020. "Assessment of Human Health Risks Posed by Nano-and Microplastics Is Currently Not Feasible," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-10, November.
    3. Danopoulos, Evangelos & Aston, John & Shah, Aarushi & Schneider, Claudia, 2024. "Evidence Communication Rules for Policy (ECR-P) critical appraisal tool," SocArXiv shwfu, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Piers Steel & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk & Herman Aguinis, 2021. "The anatomy of an award-winning meta-analysis: Recommendations for authors, reviewers, and readers of meta-analytic reviews," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(1), pages 23-44, February.
    2. Mahesh Shumsher Rughooputh & Rui Zeng & Ying Yao, 2015. "Protein Diet Restriction Slows Chronic Kidney Disease Progression in Non-Diabetic and in Type 1 Diabetic Patients, but Not in Type 2 Diabetic Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials ," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Christopher Winchester & Kelsey E. Medeiros, 2023. "In Bounds but Out of the Box: A Meta-Analysis Clarifying the Effect of Ethicality on Creativity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(3), pages 713-743, March.
    4. Kelly R Moran & Sara Y Del Valle, 2016. "A Meta-Analysis of the Association between Gender and Protective Behaviors in Response to Respiratory Epidemics and Pandemics," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-25, October.
    5. Sandra Feijóo & Raquel Rodríguez-Fernández, 2021. "A Meta-Analytical Review of Gender-Based School Bullying in Spain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Xizheng Xu & Zhiqiang Liu & Shaoying Gong & Yunpeng Wu, 2022. "The Relationship between Empathy and Attachment in Children and Adolescents: Three-Level Meta-Analyses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Kathrin Wunsch & Janis Fiedler & Philip Bachert & Alexander Woll, 2021. "The Tridirectional Relationship among Physical Activity, Stress, and Academic Performance in University Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Alan da Silveira Fleck & Margaux L. Sadoine & Stéphane Buteau & Eva Suarthana & Maximilien Debia & Audrey Smargiassi, 2021. "Environmental and Occupational Short-Term Exposure to Airborne Particles and FEV 1 and FVC in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Claudia Menne-Lothmann & Wolfgang Viechtbauer & Petra Höhn & Zuzana Kasanova & Simone P Haller & Marjan Drukker & Jim van Os & Marieke Wichers & Jennifer Y F Lau, 2014. "How to Boost Positive Interpretations? A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-26, June.
    10. José Felipe Orzuna-Orzuna & Juan Eduardo Godina-Rodríguez & Jonathan Raúl Garay-Martínez & Guillermo Reséndiz-González & Santiago Joaquín-Cancino & Alejandro Lara-Bueno, 2024. "Milk Yield, Composition, and Fatty Acid Profile in Milk of Dairy Cows Supplemented with Microalgae Schizochytrium sp.: A Meta-Analysis," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, July.
    11. Wei-Cheng Chang & Chin Lin & Cho-Hao Lee & Tzu-Ling Sung & Tao-Hsin Tung & Jorn-Hon Liu, 2017. "Vitrectomy with or without internal limiting membrane peeling for idiopathic epiretinal membrane: A meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, June.
    12. Christopher Hansen & Holger Steinmetz & Jörn Block, 2022. "How to conduct a meta-analysis in eight steps: a practical guide," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(1), pages 1-19, February.
    13. Shaylea Badovinac & Jodi Martin & Camille Guérin-Marion & Monica O’Neill & Rebecca Pillai Riddell & Jean-François Bureau & Rebecca Spiegel, 2018. "Associations between mother-preschooler attachment and maternal depression symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-27, October.
    14. Fazel, Seena & Burghart, Matthias & Fanshawe, Thomas & Gil, Sharon Danielle & Monahan, John & Yu, Rongqin, 2022. "The predictive performance of criminal risk assessment tools used at sentencing: Systematic review of validation studies," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Amro Qaddoura & Payam Yazdan-Ashoori & Conrad Kabali & Lehana Thabane & R Brian Haynes & Stuart J Connolly & Harriette Gillian Christine Van Spall, 2015. "Efficacy of Hospital at Home in Patients with Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
    16. Boshra H. Namin & Torvald Øgaard & Jo Røislien, 2021. "Workplace Incivility and Turnover Intention in Organizations: A Meta-Analytic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-19, December.
    17. Ruohuang Jiao & Wojtek Przepiorka & Vincent Buskens, 2022. "Moderators of reputation effects in peer-to-peer online markets: a meta-analytic model selection approach," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1041-1067, May.
    18. Pedro Silva Moreira & Pedro R Almeida & Hugo Leite-Almeida & Nuno Sousa & Patrício Costa, 2016. "Impact of Chronic Stress Protocols in Learning and Memory in Rodents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-24, September.
    19. Romain Cadario & Pierre Chandon, 2020. "Which Healthy Eating Nudges Work Best? A Meta-Analysis of Field Experiments," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(3), pages 465-486, May.
    20. repec:cup:judgdm:v:17:y:2022:i:4:p:720-744 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Tyler Blazey & Abraham Z Snyder & Manu S Goyal & Andrei G Vlassenko & Marcus E Raichle, 2018. "A systematic meta-analysis of oxygen-to-glucose and oxygen-to-carbohydrate ratios in the resting human brain," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0236838. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.