Will you take your water from nano plastics or pesticides?

Let us spare ourselves for the occasion an introduction based on “water is life”. A recent study published by a team of researchers from Columbia University, in New York, aiming to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new research technique for nano plastics, reports the massive presence of the latter in bottled water. A concentration 100 times higher than previously estimated, ranging from 130,000 to 240,000 plastic particles per liter of bottled water. “Particles which mainly come from the erosion of plastic bottles in contact with water”, notes the lead author of the study interviewed by CNN.

So, far from it, there is not only life in the water. Compared to the average annual consumption of bottled water in France which is 136 liters per inhabitant, there are between 15 and 30 million mini pieces of plastic that each French person ingests in this way, or as much as a Spaniard, almost two times less than an Italian, but 13 times more than a Swede, according to the Natural Mineral Waters Europe union. The French branch of the union of La Maison des Eaux Minerales Naturelles believes, for its part, via Marie Planck, that the New York study must “be taken with caution. This is an experimental technology, and the bottles analyzed are those sold on the American market.”

France on the front line

But the news raises questions in France, the world’s leading exporter of mineral waters, which has, with Danone and Nestlé, two of the most powerful global players in the sector, and could spell revenge from the tap. “It’s difficult to pit one against the other,” says Nathalie Davoisne of the Water Information Center (CIE). “The French are primarily mixed drinkers. Three quarters of them say they consume both,” specifies the media manager. And even more, 48% of French people surveyed say they drink bottled water every day and 66% tap water, establishes in particular their 2023 barometer, The French and watera study carried out every year for twenty-seven years.

Over a longer period of time, the share of French people declaring they consume bottled water daily fell between 2000, with a peak at 65%, and 2010, before stagnating. A fall then rather driven by “environmental awareness linked to waste and plastic pollution”, specifies Nathalie Davoisne. Naturally, now emerges in this study the concern of the scarcity of the resource, with 92% of French people having “the conviction of the impact of climate change on the lack of water” and that of its pollution: 22% of French people declare “not trusting tap water,” notes the study.

“Tap water remains the most controlled food product. Regarding nitrates, 99.3% of stations were in permanent compliance with the threshold of 50 mg/L and in 2021, this threshold crossing affected 400,000 people. And the thresholds are established for the most vulnerable groups, with a margin,” recalls Doctor Philippe Beaulieu, health referent for the CIE. “In terms of plastic particles, tap water is quite safe. But we live in an environment full of particles, although, on a strictly medical level, there is not yet conclusive proof of the effects of nanoplastics on health. However, this raises a whole bunch of questions about the effects of endocrine disruptors,” continues the doctor who sees no problem in using tap water for infants and babies.

In Marseille, the tap water was still in the river 24 hours before

Because the connection between bottled water and health, and particularly for children, is strong. A projection on which the different brands of bottled water have played perfectly since the explosion in their marketing enabled by the development in 1973 of the PET plastic bottle. Who, for example, does not today associate a brand like Evian (from the Danone group) with babies?

However, there are water networks in France, often public, of very good quality. As in Marseille, and more widely in Paca, where three quarters of the resource comes from the Verdon and Durance rivers which have their sources in the Alps. “These are spaces naturally protected from agricultural pollution or wastewater discharge. The water does not have time to stagnate either, since the water flowing from the taps was still in the river twenty-four hours before,” explains Emmanuel Guiol, quality and distribution manager at the Société des eaux de Marseille. “In fact, we have no or very little nitrates or pesticide residues and the water is disinfected with ozone, which gives no taste,” he adds, adding that “the large advertising campaigns may have contributed to inspiring distrust of tap water.

“Will you take your water from plastics or pesticides? »

The fact remains that this can sometimes be appropriate. Particularly in the most agricultural and industrial regions, such as Hauts-de-France, where concentrations of pesticide residues are highest in water. The investigations carried out by the television show “Complément d’investigation”, broadcast in September 2022 had revealed that, “according to the Directorate General of Health’s own estimates and if the regulations were respected, nearly 10 million French people would have had to be deprived of tap water”.

This is when some consumers would be tempted to turn to domestic water treatment devices, using charcoal or other filter jugs with which 20% of French homes are equipped, estimates UFC-Que Choisir. “They are rather useless,” comments Doctor Philippe Beaulieu. “Charcoal filters can remove nice things like calcium and magnesium, which is a shame, and filter jugs quickly become breeding grounds for bacteria. »

We have now reached a sort of impasse. “Will you take your water from plastics or pesticides? », might ask a waiter with an evil spirit while waiting for a possible return of the glass deposit. This could make its return to France within two yearsannounced in mid-June, the Secretary of State for Ecology, Bérangère Couillard. The end of single-use plastic packaging is still announced for 2040.

Alexandre Vella