This is serious news because it could have a lasting effect on all of our health. Many people drink tap water and don't have any whole home water filtration system. In addition, most people who do probably will not be able to filter out whatever this "microplastic" contaminant is. We know certain plastics can make people more vulnerable to becoming insulin resistant (and diabetic as a result). We know certain plastics can trigger effects which can cause cancer. We also know cancer and diabetes rates have been mysteriously increasing and particularly so among minority populations.
Last modified on Wednesday 6 September 2017 08.35 EDT
Microplastic contamination has been found in tap water in countries around the world, leading to calls from scientists for urgent research on the implications for health.
Scores of tap water samples from more than a dozen nations were analysed by scientists for an investigation by Orb Media, who shared the findings with the Guardian. Overall, 83% of the samples were contaminated with plastic fibres.
Could class have something to do with the level of contamination? We know in the United States based on the Flint situation that people who are of lower class are not even protected by the government in some cases. In fact, the government might even decide it's more important to control "costs" than to save the lives of people (as we saw happen in Flint). If it's not lead pollution in the tap water, it's prescription drugs, and if not that then we have to worry about "microplastics".
Weirdly enough the United States has the highest rate and it seems Trump Tower and certain other popular politically sensitive locations aren't immune:
The US had the highest contamination rate, at 94%, with plastic fibres found in tap water sampled at sites including Congress buildings, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters, and Trump Tower in New York. Lebanon and India had the next highest rates.
This is a study to take seriously and figure out how to technologically remove all pollutants from water. Just buying bottled water won't work because most bottled water is just tap water from another location. It might also be interesting to see if water can be something which benefits from decentralization (at the supply, shipping and capture side) because ultimately it's about collecting rain water and about purifying the water. Thoughts?