EUSDR Conference on Microplastics in drinking water - from source to tap

On October 3rd, 2024, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) Priority Area 4 - Water Quality organized a conference on Microplastics in drinking water, held in Budapest, Hungary. The event featured participation from over 110 attendees, including representatives from key organizations such as the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), Joint Research Centre (JRC) and World Health Organization (WHO), and multiple research initiatives, including projects such as NANOPlastics, NET4mPLASTIC and ADRIPLAST.

Representatives of the lead partner Croatian Geological Survey of project MicroDrink participated at the conference, along with representatives of MicroDrink's project partner Eurofins. The conference provided an excellent opportunity to establish cooperation amongst experts in microplastics research, and saw active discussion of all participants resulting in numerous ideas for future initiatives, including improving the sharing of information between research institutions, facilitating and simplifying access to data for stakeholders and water suppliers, and enhancing the capacity of water managers to monitor microplastics in drinking water.

Project MicroDrink was presented, outlining key activities, anticipated results, and the development of tools for understanding and managing microplastics in drinking water. The MicroDrink Knowledge Base was also highlighted as a comprehensive database aimed at disseminating the latest state of the art on microplastics sampling, analysis, laboratory instruments, projects and more. Attendees were encouraged to contribute by completing two MicroDrink surveys on sampling and analysis, and public awareness, action and legislation. They were also invited to participate in the International joint sampling training session scheduled for October 9th, and two knowledge transfer webinars planned for late 2024.

This event marked a significant step toward strengthening cooperation and advancing scientific understanding in the field of microplastics in drinking water.