[ctrl-j]

The NIH has begun doing studies on the effects of nanoplastics, and it appears there is evidence for buildup in the liver [1]. If asprin had a long half-life in your body, you'd have a maximum lifetime dose. The reason it makes a good medicine is due to the fact that it has a positive effect and leaves your body in a timely manner.

A good example in this instance is Lead. Its bad to have lead in your water even in relatively small amounts, because the half-life of lead in your soft tissues is months, and in your bone is 20-30 years. If nanoplastics end up being similar, you could end up with liver damage, or other medical complications if your exposure is high.

[1] - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9610555/

[Terr_]

Even if you assume permanent lifetime build up, it seems like we're talking about ~10 nanograms per liter (as per grandparent post) of these plastics versus 15,000 nanograms per liter of lead that meets EPA safety limits.

I find it hard to assume the plastic should be more than a thousand times more worrisome than lead on a per-gram basis (That said, we have persistently underestimated the negative effects of the element.)

[cma]

There would be very little economic effect if everyone in the world got a reverse osmosis drinking-water only filter ($200 every 10-15 years, $20-30 a year). Though we don't have any kind of structure that could actually make that happen.

[tomxor]

The article suggests the source of nanoplastics in tap water is from reverse osmosis PA filters.