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Common Single-use Consumer Plastic Products Release Trillions of Nanoparticles per Liter into Water During Normal Use

Published

Author(s)

Christopher D. Zangmeister, James Radney, Kurt D. Benkstein, Berc Kalanyan

Abstract

This study demonstrates that commonly used consumer products such as single use food grade nylon bags and hot beverage cups lined with low-density polyethylene release nm-sized plastic particles at number densities > 1012 L 1 when exposed to water. The number of particles released is a function of the initial water temperature (100 °C vs. ambient). Mean particle diameters were between 30 nm and 80 nm with few particles > 200 nm. On a number density basis, our findings equate to one particle per cell in the human body with daily usage of the tested materials at a particle size range that is facile for cellular uptake, and are 10 to 100 times below the safety limit set by the United States Food and Drug Administration on a per mass basis.
Citation
Nature Nanotechnology

Keywords

Nanoparticle, water quality, food safety

Citation

Zangmeister, C. , Radney, J. , Benkstein, K. and Kalanyan, B. (2022), Common Single-use Consumer Plastic Products Release Trillions of Nanoparticles per Liter into Water During Normal Use, Nature Nanotechnology, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c06768, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=932999 (Accessed June 1, 2023)
Created April 20, 2022, Updated February 21, 2023