Soft plastic bottles soak hundreds of chemicals into drinking water

Recent research has raised alarms about the potential health effects of drinking water from plastic bottles, and scientists are concerned that chemicals leaching into the liquid could have unknown effects on human health.A new study investigates the phenomenon of reusable bottles, revealing the hundreds of chemicals they release into the water and why passing them through the dishwasher might be a bad idea.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, focused on the types of soft squeeze bottles used in sports.While these are very common around the world, the authors say there are large gaps in our understanding of how the chemicals in these plastics migrate into the drinking water they hold, so they conducted experiments to fill in some of the gaps.
Both new and heavily used beverage bottles were filled with regular tap water and left to sit for 24 hours before and after going through a dishwasher cycle.Using mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography, the scientists analyzed the substances in the liquid before and after machine washing and after five rinses with tap water.
“It was the soapy substance on the surface that released the most after machine washing,” said lead author Selina Tisler.“Most of the chemicals from the water bottle itself are still there after machine washing and extra rinsing. The most toxic substances we found were actually created after the water bottle was put in the dishwasher — presumably because washing wears down the plastic, which Increase leaching.”
Scientists found more than 400 different substances in the water from plastic materials, and more than 3,500 substances from dishwasher soap.Most of these are unknown substances that researchers have yet to identify, and even of those that can be identified, at least 70 percent of their toxicity is unknown.
“We were shocked by the large number of chemicals found in the water after 24 hours in the bottle,” said study author Jan H. Christensen. “There are hundreds of substances in the water — including substances that have never been found in plastic before, and potentially Substances that are harmful to health. After a dishwasher cycle, there are thousands of substances.”
The substances the scientists discovered experimentally included photoinitiators, molecules known to have toxic effects on living organisms, potentially becoming carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.They also found plastic softeners, antioxidants and mold release agents used in plastic manufacturing, as well as diethyltoluidine (DEET), the most common active in mosquito repellents.
Scientists believe that only a few of the detected substances were intentionally added to the bottles during the manufacturing process.Most of them may have formed during use or production, where one substance may have been converted into another, such as the plastic softener they suspect would be converted to DEET when it degrades.
“But even with known substances that manufacturers deliberately add, only a fraction of the toxicity has been studied,” Tissler said.”So, as a consumer, you don’t know if anyone else is going to have an adverse effect on your health.”
The study adds to a growing body of research on how humans consume vast amounts of chemicals through their interactions with plastic products, and further illustrates the many unknowns in the field.
“We are very concerned about low levels of pesticides in drinking water,” Christensen said.”But when we pour water into a container to drink, we ourselves don’t hesitate to add hundreds or thousands of substances to the water. Although we can’t yet say whether the substances in the reusable bottle will affect our health , but I’d use a glass or a good stainless steel bottle in the future.”