WHO: plastic particles in drinking water pose no threat

The concentration of microplastics in drinking water is currently so low that there is no threat to public health. That is what the World Health Organization (WHO) writes in its first report on this subject.

According to the UN organization, a large part of the plastic particles that enter through the drinking water is not absorbed into the body. Although that conclusion has been drawn on the basis of ‘limited information’, the WHO claims that wider research is needed. “We urgently need to know more.”

Microplastics are increasingly being used, including in cosmetics, but can also arise due to the disintegration of larger pieces of plastic waste. They end up in surface water via the waste water and can thus end up in drinking water. Much research into the effects of microscopic particles in the water has not yet been conducted.