Source: Science and Technology Daily
Science and Technology Daily reporter Liu Xia
According to a recent report by Phys.org, a new study by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety shows that beverages in glass bottles, which appear to be more environmentally friendly (including mineral water, carbonated drinks, beer, and wine), actually have higher levels of microplastics than those in plastic bottles.
The research team conducted systematic testing on various packaged beverages available in the French market and found an unexpected phenomenon: on average, each liter of soft drinks, lemonade, iced tea, and beer in glass bottles contains 100 microplastic particles, which is 5 to 50 times higher than that in plastic bottles or metal cans, completely opposite to initial expectations.
Further analysis revealed that these microplastics mainly originate from the inner plastic coating of the bottle caps. The team found that the microplastics detected in glass-bottled beverages match the color, shape, and polymer composition of the bottle cap coatings. They speculate that friction between bottle caps during storage and transportation may cause small scratches, which could be the main reason for the shedding of plastic particles.
The team specifically pointed out that it is currently impossible to assess the health risks of these numbers because the international community has not established safety threshold standards for microplastics. A cleaning process involving "air blowing + alcohol washing" can reduce the shedding of microplastics from bottle caps by 60%.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7519320631486218761/
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