Study: Plastic Bottles Release Hundreds Of Chemicals Into Your Beverage (Even New Ones)

Hundreds of potentially toxic compounds were released into the water in reusable plastic bottles after several hours. Thousands of compounds were released if the bottles went through a dishwasher cycle. Glass or metal are better options.

Reusable Plastic Bottles Release Hundreds Of Chemicals, Study* Finds, Science Daily, 11 February 2022

“We were taken aback by the large amount of chemical substances we found in water after 24 hours in the bottles. There were hundreds of substances in the water — including substances never before found in plastic, as well as substances that are potentially harmful to health. After a dishwasher cycle, there were several thousand.

Professor Christensen and fellow researcher Selina Tisler detected more than 400 different substances from the bottle plastic and over 3,500 substances derived from dishwasher soap. A large portion of these are unknown substances that the researchers have yet to identify. But even of the identified chemicals, the toxicity of at least 70 % remains unknown.

Photo-initiators are among the toxic substances in the water which worry the researchers. These are known to have potentially harmful effects on health in organisms, such as being endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. Furthermore, the researchers found a variety of plastic softeners, antioxidants and release agents used in the manufacture of the plastic, as well as Diethyltoluamide (DEET), commonly known as the active substance in mosquito spray. [as one of the plastic softeners degrades, it is converted into DEET].

“We care so much about low levels of pesticides in our drinking water. But when we pour water into a container to drink from, we unflinchingly add hundreds or thousands of substances to the water ourselves.”

* Non-target screening for the identification of migrating compounds from reusable plastic bottles into drinking water, Journal of Hazardous Materials, May 2022

One of the authors said, “I’ll be using a glass or quality stainless steel bottle in the future.”

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