By Ahmed Eljechtimi

December 4, 20256:38 AM ESTUpdated December 4, 2025

• Summary
• Companies

• Investment in desalination crucial for country’s water supply
• Plans to launch tenders for new desalination plants next year
• Minister says all new plants will be powered by renewable energy

MARRAKECH, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Morocco, which has endured seven years of drought, plans to supply 60% of its drinking water from treated seawater by 2030, up from 25%, its water minister said, as Rabat accelerates investment in desalination plants powered by renewable energy.

The push is crucial to ensure steady water supply and Morocco’s status as a key producer and exporter of fresh produce amid climate change, with droughts having dried up some of its main water reservoirs and depleted underground resources.

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The North African country plans to produce 1.7 billion cubic metres of desalinated water annually by 2030 from projects under construction and plants for which it will hold tenders starting next year, Nizar Baraka told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Water Congress in Marrakech.

The largest plant – with planned investment of about 10 billion dirhams ($1 billion) – will be located near Tiznit, 615 km (382 miles) south of the capital Rabat. It will have a capacity of 350 million cubic metres and will supply urban centres in the country’s food basket as well as farmlands, he said.

“Studies are underway as part of preparations for the plant’s tender, to be announced by mid next year,” Baraka said.

Besides the northern cities of Nador and Tangier, plants are also planned in Rabat in partnership with French group Veolia (VIE.PA), opens new tab, as well as in Tantan, where the government is considering building a port dedicated to green hydrogen and ammonia exports, Baraka said.

Morocco currently operates 17 desalination plants producing 345 million cubic metres annually. Four additional plants are under construction with a combined capacity of 540 million cubic metres, scheduled to be ready by 2027, including a major facility in Casablanca, the country’s most populous city.

“All new desalination plants will be powered by renewable energy,” Baraka said.

Morocco has also faced rising temperatures that worsened evaporation in dams. To counter this, it installed floating solar panels on a dam near Tangier to reduce evaporation, which causes the loss of 30% of the country’s surface water, according to the minister.At the Gtech Community Stadium in west London, home to the Premier League’s Brentford F.C.,00:0201:59

“The experiment will be expanded to include dams in the south and mountainous regions,” Baraka said.

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https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/morocco-secure-60-water-needs-desalination-minister-says-2025-12-04/?

News

By Owen Hughes published December 4, 2025

A new device cuts down the time it takes to harvest water from the atmosphere from days to minutes, MIT researchers say.

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MIT engineers designed an ultrasonic system to “shake” water out of an atmospheric water harvester. The design (two prototypes shown in photo) can recover captured water in minutes rather than hours. (Image credit: Ikra Iftekhar (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0))

Researchers at MIT have developed a device that collects moisture from the air and turns it into drinking water within minutes. The team hopes that the technology could eventually be used to provide clean water to communities where natural sources are scarce.

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) systems work by drawing moisture from the air and condensing it into liquid water. This typically involves cooling humid air or using sponge-like materials called “sorbents” that absorb water vapor, which is then released and condensed into droplets.

The challenge is that AWH devices typically rely on the sun to evaporate water from the sorbent, which can take several hours or even days. This limits their usefulness in dry, resource-stressed environments including regions where there is no salt water to desalinate.

MIT’s new device, however, uses ultrasonic waves (ultrasound) to shake moisture loose from the sorbent. The released moisture then drains through small nozzles at the base of the device, where it can be collected and used.

According to the researchers, their ultrasonic prototype is 45 times more efficient at extracting captured water compared to evaporation alone. They detailed their findings in a paper published Nov. 18 in the journal Nature Communications.

“People have been looking for ways to harvest water from the atmosphere, which could be a big source of water particularly for desert regions and places where there is not even saltwater to desalinate,” study co-author Svetlana Boriskina, a principal research scientist at MIT, said in a statement. “Now we have a way to recover water quickly and efficiently.”

Drinking water — from days to minutes

MIT’s approach uses ultrasound — sound waves that travel at frequencies above 20 kilohertz, beyond the range of human hearing — to liberate moisture from the sorbent.

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The heart of the AWH device is a flat ceramic ring that vibrates when voltage is applied. Researchers found that high-frequency pulses were ideal for breaking the weak bonds between the absorbed water and the material surface.

“It’s like the water is dancing with the waves, and this targeted disturbance creates momentum that releases the water molecules, and we can see them shake out in droplets,” lead study author and MIT graduate student, Ikra Iftekhar Shuvo, said in the statement.

The researchers tested the device by placing quarter-sized samples of sorbent material in a humidity chamber set to different levels. When the samples were saturated, they were placed on the ultrasonic actuator and vibrated at high frequency. In each case, the device shook the samples dry in just a few minutes.

A potential challenge is that the new device needs a power source, unlike AWH systems that use sunlight alone. The researchers suggest that their device could be paired with a small solar cell that also acts as a sensor to detect when the sorbent is full. This could trigger a release cycle that would allow the system to collect and release water multiple times a day.

The team envisions a compact household setup that combines a fast-absorbing material with an ultrasonic actuator, each about the size of a window, that vibrates to release the trapped water.

“The beauty of this device is that it’s completely complementary and can be an add-on to almost any sorbent material,” said Boriskina. “It’s all about how much water you can extract per day. With ultrasound, we can recover water quickly, and cycle again and again. That can add up to a lot per day.”

Owen Hughes

Owen Hughes is a freelance writer and editor specializing in data and digital technologies. Previously a senior editor at ZDNET, Owen has been writing about tech for more than a decade, during which time he has covered everything from AI, cybersecurity and supercomputers to programming languages and public sector IT. Owen is particularly interested in the intersection of technology, life and work ­– in his previous roles at ZDNET and TechRepublic, he wrote extensively about business leadership, digital transformation and the evolving dynamics of remote work.

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Study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire shows residents’ reproductive outcomes near contaminated sites

Tom Perkins Mon 8 Dec 2025 15.00 ESTShare

Drinking water contaminated with Pfas chemicals probably increases the risk of infant mortality and other harm to newborns, a new peer-reviewed study of 11,000 births in New Hampshire finds.

The first-of-its-kind University of Arizona research found drinking well water down gradient from a Pfas-contaminated site was tied to an increase in infant mortality of 191%, pre-term birth of 20%, and low-weight birth of 43%.

It was also tied to an increase in extremely premature birth and extremely low-weight birth by 168% and 180%, respectively.

The findings caught authors by surprise, said Derek Lemoine, a study co-author and economics professor at the University of Arizona who focuses on environmental policymaking and pricing climate risks.

“I don’t know if we expected to find effects this big and this detectable, especially given that there isn’t that much infant mortality, and there aren’t that many extremely low weight or pre-term births,” Lemoine said. “But it was there in the data.”

The study also weighed the cost of societal harms in drinking contaminated water against up-front cleanup costs, and found it to be much cheaper to address Pfas water pollution.

Extrapolating the findings to the entire US population, the authors estimate a nearly $8bn negative annual economic impact just in increased healthcare costs and lost productivity. The cost of complying with current regulations for removing Pfas in drinking water is estimated at about $3.8bn.

“We are trying to put numbers on this and that’s important because when you want to clean up and regulate Pfas, there’s a real cost to it,” Lemoine said.

Pfas are a class of at least 16,000 compounds often used to help products resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down and accumulate in the environment, and they are linked to serious health problems such as cancer, kidney disease, liver problems, immune disorders and birth defects.

Pfas are widely used across the economy, and industrial sites that utilize them in high volume often pollute groundwater. Military bases and airports are among major sources of Pfas pollution because the chemicals are used in firefighting foam. The federal government estimated that about 95 million people across the country drink contaminated water from public or private wells.

Previous research has raised concern about the impact of Pfas exposure on fetuses and newborns.

Among those are toxicological studies in which researchers examine the chemicals’ impact on lab animals, but that leaves some question about whether humans experience the same harms, Lemoine said.

Other studies are correlative and look at the levels of Pfas in umbilical cord blood or in newborns in relation to levels of disease. Lemoine said those findings are not always conclusive, in part because many variables can contribute to reproductive harm.

The new natural study is unique because it gets close to “isolating the effect of the Pfas itself, and not anything around it”, Lemoine said.

Researchers achieved this by identifying 41 New Hampshire sites contaminated with Pfoa and Pfos, two common Pfas compounds, then using topography data to determine groundwater flow direction. The authors then examined reproductive outcomes among residents down gradient from the sites.

Researchers chose New Hampshire because it is the only state where Pfas and reproductive data is available, Lemoine said. Well locations are confidential, so mothers were unaware of whether their water source was down gradient from a Pfas-contaminated site. That created a randomization that allows for causal inference, the authors noted.

The study’s methodology is rigorous and unique, and underscores “that Pfas is no joke, and is toxic at very low concentrations”, said Sydney Evans, a senior science analyst with the Environmental Working Group non-profit. The group studies Pfas exposures and advocates for tighter regulations.

The study is in part effective because mothers did not know whether they were exposed, which created the randomization, Evans said, but she noted that the state has the information. The findings raise questions about whether the state should be doing a similar analysis and alerting mothers who are at risk, Evans said.

Lemoine said the study had some limitations, including that authors don’t know the mothers’ exact exposure levels to Pfas, nor does the research account for other contaminants that may be in the water. But he added that the findings still give a strong picture of the chemicals’ effects.

Granular activated carbon or reverse osmosis systems can be used by water treatment plants and consumers at home to remove many kinds of Pfas, and those systems also remove other contaminants.

The Biden administration last year put in place limits in drinking water for six types of Pfas, and gave water utilities several years to install systems.

The Trump administration is moving to undo the limits for some compounds. That would probably cost the public more in the long run. Utility customers pay the cost of removing Pfas, but the public “also pays the cost of drinking contaminated water, which is bigger”, Lemoine said.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/drinking-water-pfas-infant-mortality-study?

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New study of PFAS forever chemicals highlights need to reduce contamination in drinking wate

Why this matters:

• This study is the first to assess PFAS exposure in a community affected by contamination from a paper mill landfill, an often-overlooked source. Elevated levels of PFAS were found in both drinking water and residents’ blood, with higher levels in those who consumed more contaminated municipal water.
• Long-term exposure to PFAS-contaminated drinking water was identified as a primary predictor of elevated serum levels, consistent with previous studies in other communities affected by PFAS contamination from different sources.
• Even three years after switching to clean water, PFAS levels in blood remained elevated, demonstrating the long-lasting presence of these chemicals in the human body.
• These findings underscore the importance of identifying and monitoring lesser-known sources of PFAS contamination. The data provided by this study are crucial for supporting future efforts to reduce exposure, evaluate health risks and guide intervention strategies.

A new study involving researchers from Michigan State University has revealed concerning findings on the long-term impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, or PFAS, exposure in communities affected by industrial contamination in drinking water sourced near an abandoned paper mill landfill.

The study, “Elevated per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in tap water and serum in a community near an abandoned paper mill,” is the first biomonitoring study to assess PFAS exposure from contamination linked to a paper mill landfill. It highlights a potentially overlooked source of PFAS contamination and provides useful insights into the persistence of these harmful chemicals in the environment and the human body.

PFAS, widely used for their water- and fire-resistant properties, are manufactured chemicals in many consumer products, including specialty clothing and carpets, nonstick cookware, electronics and food packaging. Many of these chemicals are highly mobile, allowing them to easily migrate through soil, air, plants, surface and groundwater. They break down very slowly and build up in humans, animals and the environment over time, posing severe risks to human and environmental health.

Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, have been detected in the blood of most Americans, with the highest levels among people who are occupationally exposed and those who have contaminated drinking water.

Courtney Carignan, an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and lead for the Michigan study cohort, emphasized the urgency of addressing PFAS exposure in drinking water.

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“We hope this work raises awareness about potential sources and pathways of PFAS in drinking water, which can be an important source of exposure,” said Carignan. “I think we can feel good as Michiganders that our state has tested all public drinking water supplies, but most states have done less testing, and people with private wells have to do their own.”

The study focused on a city in southwest Michigan, where the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team first identified contamination in drinking water in 2018. Michigan’s proactive stance has positioned it among the few states in the U.S. to set maximum contaminant levels for PFAS, with the U.S. EPA following suit with national standards.

The study found elevated PFOA, PFOS and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid, or PFHxS, in residents’ drinking water and blood in a community affected by contamination from a nearby paper mill landfill. The mill, which operated from 1909 to 2000, had disposed of waste containing PFAS in a landfill, causing elevated contamination in the surrounding groundwater.

Participants who had consumed the contaminated water were divided into two groups: those exposed to the more highly contaminated municipal water and those with lower levels in their private wells. Blood and water samples were collected to measure PFAS levels and assess long-term exposure.

The water source was found to be the strongest predictor of PFAS levels in blood, which increased for every additional year of drinking the water. Additionally, women in the low-exposure group had lower PFOS and PFHxS levels than men, likely attributable to biological factors such as menstruation, childbirth and breastfeeding.

Chris Higgins, an environmental chemist at the Colorado School of Mines and the project’s principal investigator, emphasized that the study focused on an often-overlooked community. He noted that most PFAS exposure studies have focused on communities near fluorochemical manufacturers or military sites that used aqueous film-forming foam.

“This study helps fill an important gap in our understanding of how the use of PFASs by other industries is impacting nearby communities,” said Higgins.

Looking forward

The findings provide a baseline for assessing the toxicological effects of PFAS and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention strategies. The study’s authors, including Heather Stapleton, the Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University and co-author of the study, emphasize that ongoing biomonitoring and further research are needed to track the long-term effects of PFAS exposure, quantify potential health risks and develop strategies for effective interventions.

“This research highlights how vulnerable our drinking water systems can be to contamination from old paper mills or landfills,” Stapleton said. “Likely, this city is not alone. Other cities or regions could be just as vulnerable. This work underscores the importance of routine monitoring for contaminants in our drinking water.”

This work was supported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities Program.

Learn More and Take Action

Sources of PFAS: Check this map of presumptive PFAS contamination and recent paper to understand more about possible sources of PFAS in your community. This figure shows the many ways we come into contact with PFAS.

Workplace: Check whether your job involves products that contain PFAS and take steps to limit exposure. This can be done by assuring use of PFAS free products, use of PPE, ventilation, etc. Check out this Slick New Guide to Avoiding PFAS in Products and this useful resource for the fire service.

Drinking Water: Private well owners are responsible for their own testing and some public drinking water systems have been tested for PFAS.

•       To check if your water has been tested see guidance from the U.S. EPA along with maps and resources from the PFAS Exchange. Some states like Michigan have tested all public water systems and provide results in an interactive map.
•       Compare detection limits and any reported levels to maximum contaminant levels from the U.S. EPA and your state.
•       If needed, filter your drinking water with an activated carbon or reverse osmosis filtration system.

Food:

•       Most paper food packaging should no longer contain PFAS. However, it is precautious to avoid microwave popcorn until the replacement is disclosed and known to be safe.
•       Fish and wildlife can accumulate PFAS in their meat from the environment (water, feed). Some states, like Michigan, have been testing. Some states have consumption advisories (see Figure 1) and national results based on data from EPA can be viewed on an interactive map.  
•       Livestock and crops can also accumulate PFAS from water, soil and feed. Maine and some other states have been testing and taking action on PFAS in agriculture. While most foods do not have elevated PFAS it is important to assure food safety and support for farmers.

Products: Some types of PFAS have been phased out of use but replaced with other types of PFAS. Scientists have recommended not using PFAS in products where they are not essential or where safer alternatives exist. In the meantime, consumers can take precautions such as:

•       Avoid stain- and waterproofing sprays on upholstery and fabrics. Check out this Slick New Guide to Avoiding PFAS in Products.
•       Avoid products with the ingredient PTFE or other “fluoro” ingredients listed on the label.
•       Choose cookware made of cast iron, stainless steel, glass, or enamel as non-stick cookware, also known as Teflon, is made with PTFE. 
•       Choose nylon or silk dental floss that is uncoated or coated in natural wax, as gliding floss is made with PTFE.

Clinicians: Learn about PFAS by reviewing this guidance from the National Academies, clinician resources on the PFAS Exchange, the PFAS Toolkit from ANHE, and taking this free CME.

Local Action:

•       Ask your state legislators to set up a program to help private well owners test for PFAS. This is especially important to prevent exposure for pregnant women, infants and children.
•       Join or start a local group that works to protect water quality.
•       Ask your elected officials to support policies for addressing PFAS and strengthen the chemical regulatory process.

For generations, Spartans have been changing the world through research. Federal funding helps power many of the discoveries that improve lives and keep America at the forefront of innovation and competitiveness. From lifesaving cancer treatments to solutions that advance technology, agriculture, energy and more, MSU researchers work every day to shape a better future for the people of Michigan and beyond. Learn more about MSU’s research impact powered by partnership with the federal government. 

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https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2025/05/new-study-of-pfas-forever-chemicals-highlights-need-to-reduce-contamination-in-drinking-water?

Study shows health benefits of tackling arsenic, chromium-6 and other pollutants at once

WASHINGTON – Drinking water treatment that pursues a multi-contaminant approach, tackling several pollutants at once, could prevent more than 50,000 lifetime cancer cases in the U.S., finds a new peer-reviewed study by the Environmental Working Group.

The finding challenges the merits of regulating one tap water contaminant at a time, the long-standing practice of states and the federal government. 

In the paper, published in the journal Environmental Research, EWG scientists analyzed more than a decade of data from over 17,000 community water systems. They found that two cancer-causing chemicals – arsenic and hexavalent chromium, or chromium-6 – often appear together in systems and can be treated using the same technologies. 

If water systems with chromium-6 contamination also reduce arsenic levels to a range from 27% to 42%, it could avoid up to quadruple the number of cancer cases compared to just lowering chromium-6 levels alone, the study finds. 

Treatment of drinking water for one contaminant, such as nitrate, has advantages for public health. But tackling multiple contaminants at once increases the health benefits. And those benefits can expand along with the number of pollutants treated at the same time. 

 “Drinking water is contaminated mostly in mixtures, but our regulatory system still acts like they appear one at a time,” said Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D., a senior scientist at EWG and lead author of the study. “This research shows that treating multiple contaminants together could prevent tens of thousands of cancer cases.”

Chromium-6 and arsenic are commonly found in drinking water across the U.S. Chromium-6 has been found in drinking water served to 264 million Americans. 

“Addressing co-occurring contaminants is scientifically the most sound approach, as well as an efficient way to protect public health,” added Stoiber.

In California alone, nearly eight out of 10 preventable cancer cases are linked to arsenic exposure.

Arizona, California and Texas bear the highest burden of arsenic pollution and would gain the most from multi-contaminant water treatment efforts.

Health risks of water contaminants

Toxic chemicals like chromium-6, arsenic and nitrate pose the greatest risks to children, pregnant people and those living in smaller communities served by water systems relying on groundwater. Systems serving these populations often rely on only one water source and the smaller communities lack the resources to demand better treatment, despite facing the most serious health harms.

Chromium-6 

This cancer-causing chemical made infamous by the film “Erin Brockovich” is linked to serious health risks. Studies show even low levels in drinking water can increase the risk of stomach cancer, liver damage and reproductive harm. 

In 2008, the National Toxicology Program found much higher rates of stomach and intestinal tumors in lab animals exposed to chromium-6 in water. California researchers later confirmed a higher risk of stomach cancer in workers who had been exposed.

The Environmental Protection Agency does not limit the amount of chromium-6 in drinking water. It does regulate total chromium, which includes chromium-6 and the mostly harmless chromium-3. Total chromium is set at 100 parts per billion, or ppb, for drinking water.

Arsenic

Arsenic is found in drinking water in all 50 states. It occurs in natural deposits and as a result of human activities such as mining and pesticide use. Long-term exposure is linked to serious health issues, including bladder, lung and skin cancers, as well as cardiovascular and developmental harm.

The legal federal limit for arsenic in drinking water is 10 ppb, set in 2001 based on outdated cost estimates for treatment, not on what’s safest for health. California’s public health goal is just 0.004 ppb, the level scientists say would pose no significant cancer risk over a lifetime.

Arsenic can also contaminate certain foods, especially rice and rice-based products, making clean water standards all the more important for reducing overall exposure.

Nitrate 

Nitrate is one of the most common drinking water contaminants, especially downstream from agricultural areas where it enters water supplies through fertilizer and manure runoff. It’s also found in private wells, often near farms or septic systems.

Exposure to nitrate in drinking water is linked to serious health risks, including colorectal and ovarian cancer, very preterm birth, low birth weight, and neural tube defects. 

The EPA set the nitrate limit at 10 parts per million in 1992 to prevent “blue baby syndrome.” But it hasn’t updated the standard in over 30 years. New research shows cancer and birth-related harms can occur at levels far below the legal limit. European studies have found increased cancer risks at nitrate levels more than 10 times lower than the EPA limit.

“Ensuring clean drinking water for all communities is about fairness and equity,” said Sydney Evans, MPH, EWG senior science analyst and a co-author of the new study. 

“Communities in the U.S. that rely on groundwater are often affected by these contaminants. New water treatment technologies offer a chance to improve water quality overall. This strengthens the case for action and investment.”

Call for smarter water rules

Federal regulations still evaluate the cost and benefit of water treatment on a one-contaminant basis, a model EWG’s report calls outdated and inefficient. 

Small and rural water systems often face the steepest per-person costs to implement new treatment technologies. But they’re among the most exposed to pollutants and associated risks.

These systems frequently lack the funding and technical support to upgrade aging infrastructure, leaving residents exposed to serious health threats. This level of vulnerability calls for new strategies for these communities – a  boost in funding coupled with more effective regulations.

For example, nitrate, often found alongside chromium-6 in drinking water, represents a major but overlooked opportunity for health protection.

“Nitrate pollution is a public health crisis, particularly in the Midwest but also across the country,” said Anne Schechinger, EWG’s Midwest director. “The federal nitrate limit was set decades ago to prevent infant deaths, but we now know see cancer and birth complications at levels of nitrate far below that outdated standard.

“Even lowering nitrate slightly could prevent hundreds of cancer cases and save tens of millions of dollars in health care costs, especially when paired with treatment for other contaminants, such as chromium-6 and arsenic,” she said. “There’s a real cost to inaction – our health and our wallets can’t afford to wait for better treatment.”

Proven technologies like ion exchange and reverse osmosis, already used today, can remove nitrate, chromium-6 and arsenic from drinking water at the same time. 

“This is about more than clean water – it’s about protecting health and advancing equity,” said David Andrews, Ph.D., acting chief science officer at EWG. “We have the engineering solutions to fix the broken drinking water system in the U.S., but we need state and federal policies to reflect the reality people face when they turn on the tap.”

Consumers concerned about chemicals in their tap water can install a water filter to help reduce their exposure to contaminants. The home filter system that’s most effective for removing chromium-6, arsenic and nitrate from water is reverse osmosis. Ion exchange technology is another option for reducing levels of these contaminants.

EWG’s water filter guide contains more information about available options. It is crucial to change water filters on time. Old filters aren’t safe, since they harbor bacteria and let contaminants through.

People can also search EWG’s national Tap Water Database to learn which contaminants are detected in their tap water.

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The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.

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https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2025/07/ewg-reducing-multiple-tap-water-contaminants-may-prevent-over?

Issue 617: A study of bacteria on microplastics in nine European rivers shows salinity to serve as a barrier stopping serious pathogens travelling large distances on plastic debris. 

Microplastics are a growing global concern, with much research looking at their transport in the environment and potential effects on ecosystems and human health. One aspect of plastic waste which may have health implications is the presence of biofilms – a layer of microorganisms which collect on their surface. When plastics end up in water bodies they can be transported over large distances, taking their ‘plastisphere’ community of microbes with them.  

Despite such concerns, there remain research gaps around how this microbial community changes with environmental stressors, as it moves through freshwater to the sea, and the extent to which pathogens potentially harmful to human and animal health are harboured on water-borne plastic.  

French researchers embarked on a seven-month mission on a boat traversing nine major European rivers, including the Seine and the Rhine, from the sea to a point upstream of the first heavily populated city on each river. They sampled water at four or five points along a salinity gradient on the rivers, then sub-sampled to analyse nutrients, particulate matter and bacterial diversity. They also collected microplastics using a special mesh trawl, analysing these to identify the species present in the plastisphere, their virulence and ability to form biofilms.  

To explore the bacterial colonisation of microplastics in the same waters, a month prior to the arrival of the boat, a land-based group placed pristine polyethylene, polyoxymethylene and nylon mesh in secured cylindrical cage structures, which the scientists on the boat then collected a month later.  

The team extracted all microplastics in the study using alcohol and flame-sterilised forceps before immediately freezing them in liquid nitrogen until DNA extraction, to avoid the risk of contamination. They carried out DNA sequencing of all the bacteria sampled and used an infrared spectrometer to analyse the composition of the sorted microplastics they recovered. They looked at bacterial communities in each river separately, paying particular attention to the colonisation of potentially harmful species such as those that may cause toxic algal blooms, illness in humans, and fungi.  

From their analyses, the scientists found that bacterial communities on microplastics were highly distinct when compared to free-living bacteria and those attached to organic particles in surrounding waters.  

Crucially, their data also uncovered distinct communities on microplastics in freshwater and the sea, with estuaries differing from both. Marine microplastics harboured significantly lower richness, evenness and diversity in their bacterial communities than those from rivers. They identified the potential pathogen genera Aeromonas, Acidovorax, Arcobacter and Prevotella in freshwater samples, but not in the sea; while Vibrio¹ was the dominant pathogen in the sea. They found no pathogen transfer between the two.  

This evidence highlighted what the scientists described as a “strong selective pressure exerted between freshwater and marine environments,” representing a limit to the dispersal of microorganisms from freshwaters to the sea as part of the plastisphere.  

The potential risks of bacteria travelling on microplastics was underlined by the team recording the pathogen Shewanella putrefaciens on microplastics for the first time, exclusively in river water. Although rare, S. putrefaciens can infect humans, causing intestinal, skin and soft tissue disease. However, the salinity barrier identified in the study suggests that the chance of such pathogens travelling from rivers to the sea is low.  

The approaches used in the study recovered microplastics which would be typically expected in the watercourses, with polyethylene the dominant component, accounting for 45% of what was found and polypropylene the second most recovered, at 12%. The researchers found the chemical composition of polymers did not significantly affect the plastisphere community, although previous work has suggested a link². The researchers suggesed this may be due to those studies looking at long-term colonisation, rather than sampling directly from the environment.  

The problem of microplastics as an additional habitat and vector for pathogen transfer is a global issue of note. The European Union is tackling plastic and microplastic pollution in various environmental, chemical and sectoral policies, including the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) as regards synthetic polymer microparticles, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive. The latter’s jurisdiction over surface waters, both inland and in transitional zones, means that the new work provides relevant knowledge on biofilms and their potential risks. 

The study fills knowledge gaps in the so far limited and fragmented research on microbial communities on microplastics, considering various spatial locations. Additional research looking beyond bacteria, at groups such as viruses and single-celled organisms, as well as explorations of tide-dependent changes, would help further inform future policy addressing plastic pollution, water quality and health.  

Notes 

1. This salt-water tolerant genus includes the species Vibrio cholerae – which causes cholera – and V. parahaemolyticus – which may cause gastroenteritis. 

2. For example: Pinto M, Langer TM, Hüffer T, Hofmann T, Herndl GJ. (2019) The composition of bacterial communities associated with plastic biofilms differs between different polymers and stages of biofilm succession. PLoS ONE 14(6): e0217165. 

Reference: 

Philip, L., Chapron, L., Barbe, V., Burgaud, G., Calvès, I., Paul-Pont, I., Thiébeauld, O., Sperandio, B., Navarro, L., Ter Halle, A., Eyheraguibel, B., Ludwig, W., Palazot, M., Kedzierski, M., Meistertzheim, A.-L. and Ghiglione, J.-F. (2024). A Pan-European study of the bacterial plastisphere diversity along river-to-sea continuums. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, pp.1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35658-9 

To cite this article/service: 

“Science for Environment Policy”: European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by the Science Communication Unit, The University of the West of England, Bristol. 

Notes on content: 

The contents and views included in Science for Environment Policy are based on independent, peer reviewed research and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Commission. Please note that this article is a summary of only one study. Other studies may come to other conclusions. 

Details

Publication date

24 April 2025AuthorDirectorate-General for Environment

Contacts

Jean-François Ghiglione

Name

Jean-François GhiglioneEmail

ghiglione@obs-banyuls.fr

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https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/water-salinity-cuts-risk-harmful-bacteria-riding-microplastics-freshwater-sea-2025-04-24_en?

Wastewater treatment plants are still not effectively removing dangerous microplastics

Date:April 21, 2025

Source:University of Texas at Arlington

Summary:Despite advances in wastewater treatment, tiny plastic particles called microplastics are still slipping through, posing potential health and environmental hazards, according to new research.Share:

    

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Despite advances in wastewater treatment, tiny plastic particles called microplastics are still slipping through, posing potential health and environmental hazards, according to new research from The University of Texas at Arlington.

Because plastic is inexpensive to produce yet lightweight and sturdy, manufacturers have found it ideal for use in nearly every consumer good, from food and beverage packaging to clothing and beauty products. The downside is that when a plastic item reaches the end of its useful life, it never truly disappears. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics — particles five millimeters or less, about the width of a pencil eraser — that end up in our soil and water.

“What our systematic literature review found is that while most wastewater treatment facilities significantly reduce microplastics loads, complete removal remains unattainable with current technologies,” said Un-Jung Kim, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences at UT Arlington and senior author of the study published in Science of the Total Environment.

“As a result, many microplastics are being reintroduced into the environment, likely transporting other residual harmful pollutants in wastewater, such the chemicals Bisphenols, PFAS and antibiotics,” Dr. Kim added. “These microplastics and organic pollutants would exist in trace level, but we can get exposure through simple actions like drinking water, doing laundry or watering plants, leading to potential long-term serious human health impacts such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.”

According to the study, one of the main challenges in detecting and mitigating microplastics is the lack of standardized testing methods. The researchers also call for a unified approach to define what size particle qualifies as a microplastic.

“We found that the effectiveness of treatments varies depending on the technology communities use and how microplastics are measured to calculate the removal rates,” said the study’s lead author, Jenny Kim Nguyen. “One way to better address the growing microplastics issue is to develop standardized testing methods that provide a clearer understanding of the issue.”

Nguyen began this research as an undergraduate student in Kim’s Environmental Chemistry Lab. She is now pursuing a master’s degree in earth and environmental sciences at UTA, where she is working to develop standardized experimental protocols for studying microplastics in air and water.

“This work helps us understand the current microplastics problem, so we can address its long-term health impacts and establish better mitigation efforts,” said Karthikraj Rajendiran, a co-author of the study and assistant professor of research from UTA’s Bone Muscle Research Center within the College of Nursing and Health Innovations.

The team also emphasizes the need for greater public awareness of microplastics to help consumers make more eco-friendly choices.

“While communities must take steps to improve microplastic detection and screening at the wastewater and water quality monitoring, consumers can already make a difference by choosing to buy clothing and textiles with less plastics whenever feasible, knowing that microfibers are the most common microplastic continually released through wastewater,” Kim added.

Funding for the project was provided by UTA’s Research Enhancement Program, which supports multidisciplinary researchers in launching new projects

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250421162936.htm?