COLIN FERNANDEZ and STACY LIBERATORE

Bottles of plastic water contain hundreds of thousands of toxic microscopic plastic particles, new research has found.

The findings are likely to shock anyone who has swapped from tap to bottled water, believing it was better for their health.

Drinking water from a bottle could mean you are contaminating your body with tiny bits of plastic, which scientists fear can accumulate in your vital organs with unknown health implications.

Nanoplastics have already been linked to cancer, fertility problems and birth defects.

Scientists using the most advanced laser scanning techniques found an average of 240,000 plastic particles in a one-liter bottle of water, compared to 5.5 per one liter of tap water.

University of Columbia researchers tested three popular brands of bottled water sold in the United States – and, using lasers, analyzed the plastic particles they contained down to just 100 nanometers in size.

The particles – nanoplastics - are much smaller than the microplastics previously detected in bottled water.

However, the particles are considered potentially toxic because they are so small that they can enter directly into blood cells and the brain.

These microscopic particles carry phthalates — chemicals that make plastics more durable, flexible, and lasting longer.