Microplastics in the drinking water of the Riobamba city, Ecuador

Plastic is a material that is designed to be durable and economical (Fok & Cheung, 2015), that’s why, it is used for activities such as food, agriculture, medicine, automotive industry, electronics industry, clothing and also in construction and civil works (Dilkes-Hoffman, Pratt, Lant & Laycock, 2018). Historically the production of plastics each year grows by 9% (Crawford & Quinn, 2017a, b). Most plastics (synthetic polymers) are extremely durable and can remain in the environment for billions of years depending on the type of plastic (Chidambarampadmavathy, Karthikeyan & Heimann, 2017). The use of plastic has become common in drinking water facilities in recent years (Kelley, Stenson, Dey & Whelton, 2014), The Ecuadorian Technical Construction Standard recommends the use of rigid vinyl polymer (PVC) for potable water pipes in construction and distribution networks. All plastic to degrade by use and age releases micro plastic fragments (Wright & Kelly, 2017). Plastic fragments with a diameter less than 5 mm are commonly referred to as microplastics – MPs (Auta, Emenike & Fauziah, 2017; Novotna, Cermakova, Pivokonska, Cajthaml & Pivokonsky, 2019), even when the size in which the MPs can be defi ned is not clearly defi ned according to the state of the art (Rodríguez-Seijo & Pereira, 2017). A person can consume up to 14 plastic particles per day; these daily doses add up to an annual total of more than 4,000 (Rochman et al., 2015). The involuntary intake of this material is potentially harmful, since it has been found that MPs produce anomalous effects in the human gastrointestinal system (Van Cauwenberghe Scientifi c Review – Engineering and Environmental Sciences (2019), 28 (4), 653–663 Sci. Rev. Eng. Env. Sci. (2019), 28 (4) Przegląd Naukowy – Inżynieria i Kształtowanie Środowiska (2019), 28 (4), 653–663 Prz. Nauk. Inż. Kszt. Środ. (2019), 28 (4) http://iks.pn.sggw.pl DOI 10.22630/PNIKS.2019.28.4.59