Evaluation of micro- and nanoplastics in Canadian drinking water, their role as vectors of pathogen and chemical transport and associated health risks

评估加拿大饮用水中的微米和纳米塑料、它们作为病原体和化学品运输载体的作用以及相关的健康风险

• 批准号: 556182-2020
• 负责人: Andrews, Robert
• 金额: $ 7.07万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=721471
• 关键词: Evaluation; micro; nanoplastics; Canadian; drinking

Drinking water treatment is conducted to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants prior to consumption. Regulations have been implemented across Canada to reduce health risks and ensure clean, safe drinking water is provided to consumers. Micro- and nanoplastics have recently been identified in limited studied of treated drinking waters from around the world, posing an unknown risk to consumers. Microplastics are defined as synthetic polymers between 1 and 5,000 µm in size; nanoplastics represent particles which measure <1 µm. Although it has been widely accepted that many source waters are irreversibly contaminated with micro- and nanoplastics, their removal by conventional and advanced water treatment processes employed across Canada is poorly understood. As such, the potential health impacts associated with the consumption of these particles is currently unknown. The proposed research will examine the concentration and characteristics of micro- and nanoplastics in raw (untreated) and treated water at facilities across Canada. Following this initial data collection, the emphasis of this research will be to fill the knowledge gap associated with the potential health impacts related to consumption of micro- and nanoplastics in drinking water. It has been hypothesized that plastic particles may transport chemical and biological (e.g. pathogen) contaminants. This research will serve to quantify chemical sorption to and characterize biofilm development and composition on virgin and environmentally weathered plastic particles of various sizes. Contaminants extracted from the micro- and nanoplastics will also be examined through a series of cell-based bioassays to evaluate potential toxicity pathways. This research represents the most comprehensive known examination of micro- and nanoplastics in Canadian drinking water and will provide an in-depth evaluation of chemical and biological contamination on plastics.

加拿大各地已实施饮用水处理以在饮用前去除物理、化学和生物污染物，以降低健康风险并确保向消费者提供清洁、安全的饮用水。最近在有限的研究中发现了微塑料和纳米塑料。微塑料被定义为尺寸在 1 至 5,000 µm 之间的合成聚合物；纳米塑料代表尺寸 <1 µm 的颗粒，尽管它已被广泛使用。人们普遍认为，许多水源都受到了微米和纳米塑料的不可逆转的污染，但人们对加拿大各地采用的传统和先进水处理工艺的去除效果知之甚少，因此，目前尚不清楚与这些颗粒的消耗相关的潜在健康影响。研究将检查加拿大各地设施中原水（未经处理的）和处理过的水中微塑料和纳米塑料的浓度和特性。在收集初步数据后，本研究的重点将是填补与潜在健康影响相关的知识空白。饮用水中微塑料和纳米塑料的消费据了解，塑料颗粒可能会传输化学和生物（例如病原体）污染物，这项研究将有助于量化从各种尺寸的原始和环境风化的塑料颗粒上的化学吸附并表征生物膜的形成和成分。还将通过一系列基于细胞的生物测定来检查微米和纳米塑料，以评估潜在的毒性途径。这项研究代表了对加拿大饮用水中微米和纳米塑料最全面的已知检查，并将提供深入的评估。塑料上的化学和生物污染。