第2094期:Study Finds Small Plastic Pieces in Bottled Water

The average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter million invisible pieces of very small plastic known as nanoplastics, a recent study says.

最近的一项研究表明，每升瓶装水中平均含有近 25 万个看不见的非常小的塑料，即纳米塑料。

Researchers found the nanoplastics with a microscope using dual lasers.

研究人员用双激光显微镜发现了纳米塑料。

Scientists long figured there were lots of these very small plastic pieces. But until researchers at Columbia and Rutgers universities did their calculations, they never knew how many or what kind.

科学家们长期以来一直认为有很多这样的非常小的塑料碎片。 但在哥伦比亚大学和罗格斯大学的研究人员进行计算之前，他们永远不知道有多少或是什么种类。

Looking at five samples each of three common bottled water brands, researchers found particle levels ranged from 110,000 to 400,000 per liter. The average was around 240,000, the study said. The research appeared recently in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

研究人员对三个常见瓶装水品牌各五个样本进行了观察，发现颗粒物含量在每升 110,000 至 400,000 个之间。 研究称，平均人数约为 240,000 人。 这项研究最近发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》上。

Nanoparticles are particles that are less than a micron in size. In comparison, a human hair is about 83 microns wide.

纳米颗粒是尺寸小于一微米的颗粒。 相比之下，人类头发的宽度约为 83 微米。

Previous studies have looked at slightly bigger microplastics that range from 5 millimeters, which could be seen by human eyes, to one micron. About 10 to 100 times more nanoplastics than microplastics were discovered in bottled water, the study found.

之前的研究关注的是稍大的微塑料，范围从人眼可见的 5 毫米到 1 微米。 研究发现，瓶装水中发现的纳米塑料比微塑料多约 10 至 100 倍。

Much of the plastic seems to be coming from the bottle and the filtration system to clean the water itself, said the study’s lead writer Naixin Qian of Columbia University.

该研究的主要作者、哥伦比亚大学的钱乃新表示，大部分塑料似乎来自瓶子和过滤系统，以净化水本身。

She would not name the three brands because researchers want more samples and they want to study more brands. Still, she said they were common and bought at a Walmart, a popular store in the U.S.

她不会说出这三个品牌的名字，因为研究人员想要更多样本，他们想要研究更多品牌。 不过，她说它们很常见，是在美国一家受欢迎的沃尔玛商店购买的。

Researchers still cannot answer the big question: Are those nanoplastic pieces harmful to health?

研究人员仍然无法回答这个大问题：这些纳米塑料碎片对健康有害吗？

“That’s currently under review. We don’t know if it’s dangerous or how dangerous,” said study co-writer Phoebe Stapleton of Rutgers University. “We do know that they are getting into the tissues (of mammals, including people) … and the current research is looking at what they’re doing in the cells.”

“目前正在审查中。 我们不知道它是否危险或有多危险，”研究报告的合著者、罗格斯大学的菲比·斯特普尔顿说。 “我们确实知道它们正在进入（哺乳动物，包括人类）的组织……目前的研究正在研究它们在细胞中的作用。”

The International Bottled Water Association said in a statement: “There currently is both a lack of standardized (measuring) methods and no scientific” agreement on the possible health effects of nano- and microplastic particles. The statement added, “Therefore, media reports about these particles in drinking water do nothing more than unnecessarily scare consumers.”

国际瓶装水协会在一份声明中表示：“目前，对于纳米和微塑料颗粒可能对健康的影响，既缺乏标准化（测量）方法，也没有科学的”共识。 声明补充说，“因此，媒体关于饮用水中这些颗粒的报道只不过是不必要地吓唬消费者。”

The American Chemistry Council, which represents plastics manufacturers, declined to immediately comment.

代表塑料制造商的美国化学理事会拒绝立即发表评论。

The Associated Press spoke with four co-writers of the study. All of them said they would cut back on their bottled water use.

美联社采访了该研究的四位合著者。 他们所有人都表示将减少瓶装水的使用。

Columbia chemist Wei Min said he has reduced his bottled water use by half. Stapleton said she now depends more on filtered water at home in New Jersey.

哥伦比亚化学家魏敏表示，他已将瓶装水的使用量减少了一半。 斯泰普尔顿说，她现在更多地依赖新泽西州家里的过滤水。

But study co-author Beizhan Yan, a Columbia environmental chemist who increased his tap water usage, pointed out that filters themselves can be a problem by introducing plastics.

但该研究的合著者、哥伦比亚环境化学家严北战（Beizhan Yan）增加了自来水的使用量，他指出，引入塑料后过滤器本身可能会成为一个问题。

“There’s just no win,” Stapleton said.

“根本没有胜利，”斯台普顿说。