Although water is essential to human life, what many fail to realize is that the water we consider clean may be quietly threatening our health—filled with harmful microplastics.

Bottled water contains more microplastics than we might expect. In 2018, a research team from the State University of New York announced that microplastics were detected in 93% of bottled water products sampled from nine countries, with an average of 10.4 microplastics per liter. There are three main ways microplastics enter bottled water: during plastic bottle manufacturing, the water filtration process, and the opening and closing of bottle caps.

The exact effects of microplastics on the human body have not yet been fully identified. However, Professor Yoon-Joo Ahn from the Department of Environmental Health Science at Konkuk University found through animal experiments that "microplastics can damage the surface of the stomach, intestines, and liver, and in severe cases, may cause intestinal leakage." She also suggested that they could negatively affect the brain.

The most effective solution would be to reduce the use of plastic bottles. Although removing microplastics during the manufacturing process might be ideal, it remains technically challenging and is still under development, requiring further research and discussion. Avoiding the use of plastic bottles represents a more realistic and immediate alternative, as they not only contribute to microplastic pollution but also take hundreds of years to decompose, causing significant environmental damage.

Although microplastics are invisible to the naked eye, we should not underestimate the threat they pose. For the sake of human health and hygiene, we must recognize the microplastic problem and strive to solve it. 

하승연 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

<저작권자 © 강남포스트, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>