Microplastics analysis, a risk for the environment and health

Plastics are omnipresent in our daily lives and are found in the environment in the form of microplastics or microparticles. Plastic has become a major problem for the environment and the health of all living beings.

Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are the main types of plastic most widespread in terrestrial and aquatic environments.

Global production of plastic materials is around 300 million tonnes per year, of which 13 million tonnes is the estimated proportion that can be found in rivers and oceans.

True to its innovation strategy and its commitment to addressing emerging challenges, Phytocontrol offers solutions for microplastics analysis in water.

What is a microplastic?

• Primary microplastics, manufactured for industrial purposes.
• Secondary microplastics, derived from the fragmentation of large plastic debris resulting from physico-chemical degradation processes. These are the ones found in aquatic systems.




What are the risks?

Microplastics are not biodegradable and can be found in surface water (sea, lake, river…), groundwater and drinking water (tap water, bottled water). Studies have also shown that sediments can potentially contain them.

Comme l’indique l’ANSES, « microplastics can pose a hazard due to their composition, in particular because of additives, potential chemical contaminants, and biological contaminants (bacteria) that attach to their surface ». This is why NGOs are alerting governments to the massive use of plastic materials.
The European Union recently banned many plastic items: cotton buds, cutlery, straws… A brand-new study on microplastics commissioned by the WWF has been published by the University of Newcastle in Australia: the report « No plastic in nature: Assessing plastic ingestion from nature to people » indicates that a person ingests 5 grams of plastic per week, the equivalent of a credit card in microplastic!

To date, microplastics are not regulated in water and are not included in the REACH classifications. An AFNOR standard (NF T90-600) is being developed for the analysis of microplastics in water intended for human consumption and groundwater by vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and infrared).




La solution Phytocontrol

Always at the forefront of innovation and by your side to support you with emerging issues, we are taking up the challenge of monitoring the evolution of this neo-contaminant with a specific analysis by Fourier-Transform InfraRed spectrometry (FTIR).



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