{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T21:38:25Z","timestamp":1790372305807,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"20","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,18]],"date-time":"2022-10-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1666051200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Hong Kong Research Grants Council","award":["UGC\/IDS(R)16\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UGC\/IDS(R)16\/19"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Research Grants Council","award":["UGC\/FDS16\/M07\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UGC\/FDS16\/M07\/19"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Research Grants Council","award":["2020\/1.11"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020\/1.11"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Research Grants Council","award":["ROU\/P01\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ROU\/P01\/19"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Metropolitan University","award":["UGC\/IDS(R)16\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UGC\/IDS(R)16\/19"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Metropolitan University","award":["UGC\/FDS16\/M07\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UGC\/FDS16\/M07\/19"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Metropolitan University","award":["2020\/1.11"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020\/1.11"]}]},{"name":"Hong Kong Metropolitan University","award":["ROU\/P01\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ROU\/P01\/19"]}]},{"name":"OUHK R&amp;D Fund","award":["UGC\/IDS(R)16\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UGC\/IDS(R)16\/19"]}]},{"name":"OUHK R&amp;D Fund","award":["UGC\/FDS16\/M07\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UGC\/FDS16\/M07\/19"]}]},{"name":"OUHK R&amp;D Fund","award":["2020\/1.11"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020\/1.11"]}]},{"name":"OUHK R&amp;D Fund","award":["ROU\/P01\/19"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["ROU\/P01\/19"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human exposure to microplastics (MPs) through drinking water has drawn serious concern recently because of the potential adverse health effects. Although there are reports on the occurrence of MPs in bottled water, little is known about the abundance of a whole spectrum of MPs with sizes ranging from 1 \u00b5m to 5 mm due to the restrictions of conventional MPs detection methods. Some studies using micro-Raman spectroscopy can achieve MPs with a size of &lt;10 \u00b5m, however, quantitation of all MPs was extremely time consuming and only a small portion (&lt;10%) of MPs would be analyzed. The present study quantified MPs from nine brands of bottled water using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry for MPs with a size of \u226550 \u00b5m and a size of &lt;50 \u00b5m, respectively. The average abundance of MPs with a size of \u226550 \u00b5m in bottled water samples was found ranging from 8\u201350 particles L\u22121, while MPs with a size of &lt;50 \u00b5m were found to be 1570\u201317,817 particles L\u22121, where the MPs abundance from mineral water samples were significantly more than distilled and spring water samples. The modal size and shape of MPs were found at 1 \u00b5m and fragments, respectively. Besides, three tap water samples obtained locally were analyzed and compared with the bottled water samples, where less MPs were found in tap water samples. In addition, contamination of MPs from bottle and cap and interference by addition of mineral salts were studied, where no significant difference from all these processes to the control sample was found, suggesting the major contamination of MPs was from other manufacturing processes. Estimated daily intake (EDI) of MPs increased substantially when data of small MPs are included, suggesting that previously reports on exposure of MPs from drinking water might be underestimated, as only large MPs were considered.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph192013432","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,18]],"date-time":"2022-10-18T21:18:02Z","timestamp":1666127882000},"page":"13432","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":66,"title":["Quantitative Assessment of Full Size Microplastics in Bottled and Tap Water Samples in Hong Kong"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Yuet-Tung","family":"Tse","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sidney Man-Ngai","family":"Chan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6197-0893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eric Tung-Po","family":"Sze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2018.11.022","article-title":"Microplastics: Finding a consensus on the definition","volume":"138","author":"Frias","year":"2019","journal-title":"Mar. Pollut. Bull."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1030","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envpol.2018.01.024","article-title":"Current opinion: What is a nanoplastic?","volume":"235","author":"Gigault","year":"2018","journal-title":"Environ. Pollut."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113282","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2021.113282","article-title":"Occurrence, potential sources and ecological risk estimation of microplastic towards coastal and estuarine zones in Malaysia","volume":"174","author":"Zainuddin","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mar. Pollut. Bull."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10772","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-017-11079-2","article-title":"The deposition and accumulation of microplastics in marine sediments and bottom water from the Irish continental shelf","volume":"7","author":"Martin","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"55","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2018.09.006","article-title":"Microplastics in the intestinal tracts of East Asian finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis sunameri) from Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea of China","volume":"136","author":"Xiong","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mar. Pollut. Bull."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"562760","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2020.562760","article-title":"Evidence of marine microplastics in commercially harvested seafood","volume":"8","author":"Curren","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gambino, I., Bagordo, F., Grassi, T., Panico, A., and de Donno, A. (2022). Occurrence of microplastics in tap and bottled water: Current Knowledge. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 19.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19095283"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.3389\/fenvs.2022.827289","article-title":"Effects of microplastics on fish and in human health","volume":"10","author":"Bhuyan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2019.05.071","article-title":"An assessment of the toxicity of polypropylene microplastics in human derived cells","volume":"684","author":"Hwang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1069","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemrestox.0c00486","article-title":"Exposure of human lung cells to polystyrene microplastics significantly retards cell proliferation and triggers morphological changes","volume":"34","author":"Goodman","year":"2021","journal-title":"Chem. Res. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"(2022, May 11). Bottled Water\u2013China. Available online: https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/cmo\/non-alcoholic-drinks\/bottled-water\/china."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101884","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jwpe.2020.101884","article-title":"Microplastic pollution of bottled water in China","volume":"40","author":"Zhou","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Water Process Eng."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.3389\/fchem.2018.00407","article-title":"Synthetic polymer contamination in bottled water","volume":"6","author":"Mason","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Chem."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"307","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2018.05.027","article-title":"Small-sized microplastics and pigmented particles in bottled mineral water","volume":"141","author":"Sarau","year":"2018","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2019.03.091","article-title":"Exposure to microplastics (<10 \u00b5m) associated to plastic bottles mineral water consumption: The first quantitative study","volume":"157","author":"Zuccarello","year":"2019","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2681","DOI":"10.1080\/10643389.2020.1807450","article-title":"Contributions of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in microplastic pollution research: A review","volume":"51","author":"Veerasingam","year":"2020","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1499","DOI":"10.1039\/C6AY02476A","article-title":"An automated approach for microplastics analysis using focal plane array (FPA) FTIR microscopy and image analysis","volume":"9","author":"Primpke","year":"2017","journal-title":"Anal. Methods"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tse, Y.-T., Lo, H.-S., Chan, S.M.-N., and Sze, E.T.-P. (2022). Flow cytometry as a rapid alternative to quantify small microplastics in environmental water samples. Water, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/w14091436"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137232","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.137232","article-title":"Smaller-sized micro-plastics (MPs) contamination in single-use PET-bottled water in Thailand","volume":"717","author":"Kankanige","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lam, T.W.L., Ho, H.T., Ma, A.T., and Fok, L. (2020). Microplastic Contamination of Surface Water-Sourced Tap Water in Hong Kong\u2014A Preliminary Study. Appl. Sci., 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/app10103463"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"984","DOI":"10.1001\/archopht.1992.01080190090035","article-title":"What is Actually Stained by Rose Bengal?","volume":"110","author":"Feenstra","year":"1992","journal-title":"Arch. Ophthalmol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6634","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.7b00423","article-title":"Plastic and Human Health: A Micro Issue?","volume":"51","author":"Wright","year":"2017","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Danopoulos, E., Twiddy, M., and Rotchell, J.M. (2020). Microplastic contamination of drinking water: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 15.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0236838"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2019.02.046","article-title":"Removal of microplastics in municipal sewage from China\u2019s largest water reclamation plant","volume":"155","author":"Yang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wolff, S., Weber, F., Kerpen, J., Winklhofer, M., Engelhart, M., and Barkmann, L. (2020). Elimination of Microplastics by Downstream Sand Filters in Wastewater Treatment. Water, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/w13010033"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Poerio, T., Piacentini, E., and Mazzei, R. (2019). Membrane Processes for Microplastic Removal. Molecules, 24.","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules24224148"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Eriksen, M., Lebreton, L.C.M., Carson, H.S., Thiel, M., Moore, C.J., Borerro, J.C., Galgani, F., Ryan, P.G., and Reisser, J. (2014). Plastic pollution in the world\u2019s oceans: More than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea. PLoS ONE, 9.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0111913"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2017.11.011","article-title":"Analysis of microplastics in water by micro-Raman spectroscopy: Release of plastic particles from different packaging into mineral water","volume":"129","author":"Schymanski","year":"2018","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Weisser, J., Beer, I., Hufnagl, B., Hofmann, T., Lohninger, H., Ivleva, N.P., and Glas, K. (2021). From the well to the bottle: Identifying sources of microplastics in mineral water. Water, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/w13060841"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"488","DOI":"10.2166\/wh.2021.025","article-title":"Generation of microplastics from the opening and closing of disposable plastic water bottles","volume":"19","author":"Singh","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Water Health"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3740","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.9b04535","article-title":"A review of microplastics in table salt, drinking water, and air: Direct human exposure","volume":"54","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101253","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eti.2020.101253","article-title":"Identification, extraction of microplastics from edible salts and its removal from contaminated seawater","volume":"21","author":"Yaranal","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. Technol. Innov."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"(2022, September 14). Bottled Water\u2013Hong Kong. Available online: https:\/\/www.statista.com\/outlook\/cmo\/non-alcoholic-drinks\/bottled-water\/hong-kong#revenue."},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"(2022, September 19). Report of the Second Hong Kong Population-Based Food Consumption Survey. Hong Kong Center of Food Safety, Available online: https:\/\/www.cfs.gov.hk\/english\/programme\/programme_firm\/files\/2nd_FCS_Report_29_Jun_2021.pdf."},{"key":"ref_35","unstructured":"(2022, September 19). Report of Population Health Survey 2014\/2015. Hong Kong Center of Health Protection, Available online: https:\/\/www.chp.gov.hk\/files\/pdf\/dh_phs_2014_15_full_report_eng.pdf."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155329","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2022.155329","article-title":"Assessing exposure of the Australian population to microplastics through bottled water consumption","volume":"837","author":"Samandra","year":"2022","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7068","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.9b01517","article-title":"Human Consumption of Microplastics","volume":"53","author":"Cox","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/19\/20\/13432\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T00:56:11Z","timestamp":1760144171000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/19\/20\/13432"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,18]]},"references-count":37,"journal-issue":{"issue":"20","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,10]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph192013432"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph192013432","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,18]]}}}