Microplastics and nanoplastics in haemodialysis waters: Emerging threats to be in our radar

Robson S Passos; Andrew Davenport; Rosa Busquets; Clare Selden; Luiz B Silva; J Santos Baptista; Damià Barceló; Luiza C Campos

doi:10.1016/j.etap.2023.104253

Microplastics and nanoplastics in haemodialysis waters: Emerging threats to be in our radar

Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2023 Sep:102:104253. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2023.104253. Epub 2023 Aug 20.

Authors

Robson S Passos¹, Andrew Davenport², Rosa Busquets³, Clare Selden⁴, Luiz B Silva⁵, J Santos Baptista⁶, Damià Barceló⁷, Luiza C Campos⁸

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Management Coordination and Environmental Technology and Bioprocesses Research Group, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Luís Freire, 500 - Cidade Universitária, Recife 50740-545, Brazil; Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: robsonpassos@recife.ifpe.edu.br.
² UCL Department of Renal Medicine, Royal Free Hospital, University College London, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kingston University London, Penrhyn road, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2EE, United Kingdom.
⁴ Institute for Liver & Digestive Health, Royal Free Campus, UCL Medical School, Rowland Hill St, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
⁵ Labour Analysis Laboratory, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa Campus I, Cidade Universitaria, 58051-900, Brazil.
⁶ Associated Laboratory for Energy, Transports and Aeronautics (LAETA/PROA), Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto - FEUP, Rua Dr Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
⁷ Water and Soil Quality Research Group, Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 1826, Barcelona 08034, Spain.
⁸ Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom. Electronic address: l.campos@ucl.ac.uk.

PMID: 37604358
DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2023.104253

Abstract

Microplastics are present in the environment, in drinking water, in human blood and there is evidence of nanoplastics in tap water. The objective of this work was to analyze the possibility of hemodialysis patients being contaminated by micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) during dialysis treatment. The motivation for this investigation is the fact that hemodialysis patients use about 300-600 L of drinking water per week, which may be contaminated by MNPs. A literature review, a field investigation in a London hospital and an estimation of MNPs intake in patients were carried out. The results showed potential points of risk of contamination of patients by MNPs in hemodialysis. It was also estimated that for a filtration efficiency of 99 % for MNPs, the amount of microplastics that can penetrate the kidneys of patients is 0.0021-3768 particles/week. The assessment concludes that hemodialysis patients are at high risk of MNP contamination.

Keywords: Filtration; Kidney disease; Plasticisers; Reverse osmosis; Risk; Water.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Drinking Water*
Humans
Microplastics*
Plastics
Radar
Renal Dialysis

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Drinking Water