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[00:00.17] The average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter million invisible pieces of very small plastic known as nanoplastics, a recent study says.

[00:14.52] Researchers found the nanoplastics with a microscope using dual lasers.

[00:22.22] Scientists long figured there were lots of these very small plastic pieces.

[00:28.86] But until researchers at Columbia and Rutgers universities did their calculations, they never knew how many or what kind.

[00:40.28] Looking at five samples each of three common bottled water brands, researchers found particle levels ranged from 110,000 to 400,000 per liter.

[00:55.16] The average was around 240,000, the study said. The research appeared recently in the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[01:08.44] Nanoparticles are particles that are less than a micron in size.

[01:14.28] In comparison, a human hair is about 83 microns wide.

[01:20.92] Previous studies have looked at slightly bigger microplastics that range from 5 millimeters, which could be seen by human eyes, to one micron.

[01:32.88] About 10 to 100 times more nanoplastics than microplastics were discovered in bottled water, the study found.

[01:44.03] 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.

[01:58.64] She would not name the three brands because researchers want more samples and they want to study more brands.

[02:07.94] Still, she said they were common and bought at a Walmart, a popular store in the U.S.

[02:16.17] Researchers still cannot answer the big question:

[02:20.16] Are those nanoplastic pieces harmful to health?

[02:24.67] “That’s currently under review.

[02:27.33] We don’t know if it’s dangerous or how dangerous,” said study co-writer Phoebe Stapleton of Rutgers University.

[02:36.63] “We do know that they are getting into the tissues (of mammals, including people) …

[02:42.47] and the current research is looking at what they’re doing in the cells.”

[02:49.11] The International Bottled Water Association said in a statement:

[02:54.69] “There currently is both a lack of standardized (measuring) methods and no scientific” agreement on the possible health effects of nano- and microplastic particles.

[03:07.44] The statement added, “Therefore, media reports about these particles in drinking water do nothing more than unnecessarily scare consumers.”

[03:19.92] The American Chemistry Council, which represents plastics manufacturers, declined to immediately comment.

[03:28.95] The Associated Press spoke with four co-writers of the study.

[03:34.53] All of them said they would cut back on their bottled water use.

[03:40.38] Columbia chemist Wei Min said he has reduced his bottled water use by half.

[03:46.75] Stapleton said she now depends more on filtered water at home in New Jersey.

[03:52.86] 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.

[04:08.53] “There’s just no win,” Stapleton said.