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Bottled water contains thousands of nanoplastics so small they can invade the body’s cells, study says
每升瓶裝水含有數十萬個納米塑料 可入侵人體細胞
In a trailblazing new study, researchers have discovered bottled water sold in stores can contain 10 to 100 times more bits of plastic than previously estimated — nanoparticles so infinitesimally tiny they cannot be seen under a microscope.
在一項開拓性新研究中，研究人員發現，商店售賣的瓶裝水所含的塑料顆粒物比原先預計的多出10到100倍，有些納米塑料小到用顯微鏡也看不見。
At 1,000th the average width of a human hair, nanoplastics are so teeny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells, experts say.
專家指出，這種納米塑料的體積是人類頭發平均直徑的千分之一，可以通過消化道或肺部進入血管，導致可能有害的人工合成化學物質散布周身并進入細胞。
One liter of water — the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters — contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics, of which 90% were identified as nanoplastics and the rest were microplastics, according to the new study.
新研究發現，每升瓶裝水（相當于兩瓶標準瓶裝水）平均含有24萬個塑料顆粒物，這些顆粒物來自7種不同塑料物質，90%的塑料顆粒物被認定為納米塑料，其他是塑料微粒。
Microplastics are polymer fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) down to 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer). Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter.
塑料微粒是直徑小于5毫米的微小聚合物，最小的塑料微粒直徑是2.5萬分之一英寸（1微米）。比最小的塑料微粒還小的則是用十億分之一米來測量的納米塑料。
In the new study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Columbia University presented a new technology that can see, count and analyze the chemical structure of nanoparticles in bottled water.
這項本周一（1月8日）發表在《美國國家科學院院刊》的新研究指出，哥倫比亞大學的研究人員采用了一種新技術，可以確定、計算和分析瓶裝水中納米顆粒的化學結構。
Instead of 300 per liter, the team behind the latest study found the actual number of plastic bits in three popular brands of water sold in the United States to be in between 110,000 and 370,000, if not higher. (The authors declined to mention which brands of bottled water they studied.)
這項新研究背后的團隊發現，每升瓶裝水所含的塑料顆粒物不是300個，而是11萬到37萬個，甚至更多。研究所用的瓶裝水來自在美國銷售的三個大眾品牌，但作者不愿透露是哪些品牌。
The innovative new techniques presented in the study open the door for further research to better understand the potential risks to human health, said Jane Houlihan, research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures, an alliance of nonprofits committed to reducing babies’ exposures to neurotoxic chemicals, who was not involved in the study.
致力于減少嬰兒與神經毒性化學物質的接觸的非盈利聯盟組織“健康嬰兒光明未來”的研究主管簡·霍利亨表示，這項研究提出的創新技術為進一步研究打開了大門，有助于更好地了解塑料對人類健康的潛在風險。霍利亨沒有參與這項研究。
“Infants and young children may face the greatest risks, as their developing brains and bodies are often more vulnerable to impacts from toxic exposures.” said Houlihan in an email.
霍利亨在電郵中寫道：“嬰幼兒可能面臨最大風險，因為他們的大腦和身體還在發育中，對有毒物質的抵抗力往往更低。”
Nanoplastics are the most worrisome type of plastic pollution for human health, experts say. That’s because the minuscule particles can invade individual cells and tissues in major organs, potentially interrupting cellular processes and depositing endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS, and heavy metals.
專家指出，納米塑料是對人類健康最有害的塑料污染源。這是因為納米塑料可以入侵人體細胞和主要器官組織，可能會干擾細胞的生物過程，在體內積淀打亂內分泌的化學物質，比如雙酚類、鄰苯二甲酸鹽、阻燃劑、全氟或多氟化物、全氟烷基磺酸鹽、重金屬等。
There are things people can do to reduce their exposure to plastics, said Houlihan.
霍利亨指出，人們可以采取一些行動來減少與塑料的接觸。
"We can avoid consuming foods and beverages in plastic containers. We can wear clothing made from natural fabrics and buy consumer products made from natural materials,” Houlihan said. “We can simply take stock of the plastic in our daily lives and find alternatives whenever feasible.”
霍利亨表示：“我們可以避免攝入放在塑料容器中的食品和飲料。我們可以穿著用天然面料制作的衣服，購買用天然材質生產的消費品。我們可以仔細審視日常生活中的塑料制品，并在可行的情況下尋找替代品。”
英文來源：美國有線電視新聞網
翻譯&編輯：丹妮
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