{
  "id": 18736743,
  "title": "Up to 2,500 microplastic particles found in tea bags after 3 minutes in hot water",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/up-to-2-500-microplastic-particles-found-in-tea-bags-after-3-minutes-18736743",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-07T15:37:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/travel-food/20261108/up-to-2500-microplastic-particles-found-in-tea-bags-after-3-minutes-in-hot-water"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study conducted at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University in Turkey has revealed that drinking tea from nylon tea bags could expose consumers to up to approximately 2,500 microplastic particles in just three minutes of steeping. The researchers placed nylon tea bags sold in Turkey into 150 milliliters of water heated to around 95 degrees Celsius and allowed them to steep for three minutes. Upon analysis of the resulting water, they detected between 555 and 2,498 microplastic particles. The study indicates that immersing tea bags in hot water can cause small plastic particles and chemical substances to leach into the beverage. Nylon tea bags, made from plastic fibers, were found to release the highest number of microplastic particles when exposed to hot water.",
  "summary": "com. Drinking a cup of hot tea may expose people to microplastics, particularly when tea bags are made from plastic materials. When exposed to hot water, these tea bags can release tiny plastic particles into the beverage. Microplastics are plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters. They can enter the human body through food and drinking water, and some…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}