The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for a further assessment of microplastics in the environment and their potential impacts on human health, following the release of an analysis of current research related to the plastics in drinking-water.
The Organisation also called for a reduction in plastic pollution to benefit the environment and reduce human exposure, according to its release copied to the Ghana News Agency.
Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health, WHO, said "we urgently need to know more about the health impact of microplastics because they are everywhere including in our drinking-water."
"Based on the limited information we have, microplastics in drinking water don't appear to pose a health risk at current levels. But we need to find out more. We also need to stop the rise in plastic pollution worldwide."
According to the analysis, which summarises the latest knowledge on microplastics in drinking-water, microplastics larger than 150 micrometres are not likely to be absorbed in the human body and uptake of smaller particles is expected to be limited.
It said absorption and distribution of very small microplastic particles including in the nano size range may, however, be higher, although the data is extremely limited.
