TY - JOUR
T1 - Low risk posed by engineered and incidental nanoparticles in drinking water
AU - Westerhoff, Paul
AU - Atkinson, Ariel
AU - Fortner, John
AU - Wong, Michael S.
AU - Zimmerman, Julie
AU - Gardea-Torresdey, Jorge
AU - Ranville, James
AU - Herckes, Pierre
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/8/1
Y1 - 2018/8/1
N2 - Natural nanoparticles (NNPs) in rivers, lakes, oceans and ground water predate humans, but engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are emerging as potential pollutants due to increasing regulatory and public perception concerns. This Review contrasts the sources, composition and potential occurrence of NNPs (for example, two-dimensional clays, multifunctional viruses and metal oxides) and ENPs in surface water, after centralized drinking water treatment, and in tap water. While analytical detection challenges exist, ENPs are currently orders of magnitude less common than NNPs in waters that flow into drinking water treatment plants. Because such plants are designed to remove small-sized NNPs, they are also very good at removing ENPs. Consequently, ENP concentrations in tap water are extremely low and pose low risk during ingestion. However, after leaving drinking water treatment plants, corrosion by-products released from distribution pipes or in-home premise plumbing can release incidental nanoparticles into tap water. The occurrence and toxicity of incidental nanoparticles, rather than ENPs, should therefore be the focus of future research.
AB - Natural nanoparticles (NNPs) in rivers, lakes, oceans and ground water predate humans, but engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are emerging as potential pollutants due to increasing regulatory and public perception concerns. This Review contrasts the sources, composition and potential occurrence of NNPs (for example, two-dimensional clays, multifunctional viruses and metal oxides) and ENPs in surface water, after centralized drinking water treatment, and in tap water. While analytical detection challenges exist, ENPs are currently orders of magnitude less common than NNPs in waters that flow into drinking water treatment plants. Because such plants are designed to remove small-sized NNPs, they are also very good at removing ENPs. Consequently, ENP concentrations in tap water are extremely low and pose low risk during ingestion. However, after leaving drinking water treatment plants, corrosion by-products released from distribution pipes or in-home premise plumbing can release incidental nanoparticles into tap water. The occurrence and toxicity of incidental nanoparticles, rather than ENPs, should therefore be the focus of future research.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85056127234&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85056127234&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41565-018-0217-9
DO - 10.1038/s41565-018-0217-9
M3 - Review article
C2 - 30082812
AN - SCOPUS:85056127234
SN - 1748-3387
VL - 13
SP - 661
EP - 669
JO - Nature nanotechnology
JF - Nature nanotechnology
IS - 8
ER -