A team of researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona revealed that tea bags made of polymers release millions of nanoparticles and microplastics when soaked.
The researchers successfully identified and characterized nano- and microplastic particles derived from commercial tea bags made from polymers such as nylon-6, polypropylene and cellulose.
The study concluded that these materials release huge amounts of particles when preparing the drink.
Food packaging, including tea bags, is one of the main sources that contribute to environmental pollution with nanoparticles and microplastics. Inhalation and ingestion are the main routes of human exposure to these pollutants.
The results show that polypropylene releases about 1.2 billion particles per milliliter with an average size of 136.7 nanometers, while cellulose releases about 135 million particles per milliliter with an average size of 244 nanometers. As for nylon-6, it releases about 8.18 million particles per milliliter with an average size of 138.4 nanometers.