The average person eats, drinks and breathes between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles every year – and that is considered an underestimate. Human Consumption of Microplastics by Cox et al. published in Environmental Science & Technology presents an analysis of 26 studies from around the world and calculates the average amount of microplastics found in common consumables.
Here are the average number of microplastic particles found per gram/liter/cubed meter in selected consumables.
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Honey
Average number of microplastic particles: 0.10
Image Credit: rvbox / istockphoto.
Salt
Average number of microplastic particles: 0.11
Image Credit: Deposit Photos.
Sugar
Average number of microplastic particles: 0.44
Image Credit: Luis Echeverri Urrea / istockphoto.
Seafood
Average number of microplastic particles: 1.48
Image Credit: Olesia Shadrina / istockphoto.
Tap water
Average number of microplastic particles: 4.24
Image Credit: dusanpetkovic/istockphoto.
Air
Average number of microplastic particles: 9.80
Image Credit: evgenyatamanenko/istockphoto.
Beer
Average number of microplastic particles: 32.27
Image Credit: Taveesaksri/ istockphoto.
Bottled water
Average number of microplastic particles: 94.37
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
Biggest known sources of microplastic
The biggest known source of microplastic that enters our bodies is bottled water. Based on four separate studies, the average number of particles per liter is 94. Beer has the second highest number, at 32, but it is the third-place spot that may cause the most alarm.
Air inhaled by humans, based on two studies conducted in France and Turkey, contains an average of 9.80 particles per meters cubed. For reference, the EPA’s Exposure Factors Handbook says that a 31-to-51-year-old inhales an average of 16 cubed meters of air per day.
This article
originally appeared on Statista.com and was
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