FREDONIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Geology & Environmental Sciences department at SUNY Fredonia conducted a study which showed that a number of brands of bottled water are contaminated by microplastic.

“Plastic is defined as any synthetic or semi-synthetic polymer with thermo-plastic or thermo-set properties,” the report said.

The researchers tested 11 different brands of water from 27 different lots. Overall, 259 individual bottles were tested.

93 percent of the bottles showed a sign of microplastic contamination, the researchers say.

The data collected by the researchers suggests that the “contamination is at least partially coming from the packaging and/or the bottling process itself,” they say.

Dr. Sherri Mason, a chemistry professor at the school, led the research.

“It’s not about pointing fingers at particular brands,” Dr. Mason told the BBC. “It’s really showing that this is everywhere, that plastic has become such a pervasive material in our society, and it’s pervading water – all of these products that we consume at a very basic level.”MORE | See the researchers’ report here.