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- The World Health Organization(WHO) has released its first report into the effects of microplastics on human health.
- In this report,WHO looked into the specific impact of microplastics in tap and bottled water.
- The report said that the level of microplastics in drinking water is not yet a health risk for humans.
- It said that microplastics larger than 150 micrometres are not likely to be absorbed by the human body.However, the chance of absorbing very small microplastic particles including nano-sized plastics could be higher.
- Further,the report has also said that the biggest overall health threat in water is from microbial pathogens that cause deadly diarrheal disease, especially in poor countries that lacks water treatment systems.
- Microplastics are plastics which are less than five mm in diameter in size.They enter the environment as primary industrial products such as those used in scrubbers and cosmetics.It could also enter via urban waste water and broken-down elements of articles discarded by consumers.
