Danish report warns: – Hundreds of chemicals in the bottles
DinSide has previously written about how a drinking bottle can become a bacterial bomb if you do not wash the right one between each use. And even with proper maintenance, you may find that the water tastes a little bad after just a few hours.
One recent report from researchers at the University of Copenhagen shows that ordinary drinking bottles release hundreds of chemicals, which end up in the water. According to studies, several of these substances can be potentially harmful to humans.
– We were surprised by the large proportion of chemical substances we found in the water after it had been 24 hours in the bottles. There were hundreds of substances in the water – including substances that have not previously been found in plastic, in addition to substances that are potentially harmful to health, says Han H. Christensen, professor of environmental analytical chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, in connection with the presentation of the report .
Should you replace your bottle?
The researchers uncovered 400 substances from the bottle plastic, while over 3,500 came from dish soap. They have not succeeded in identifying all of them, in fact they have not been able to uncover how toxic 70 percent of the substances are, but have not taken photoinitiators as any of the most worrying. The reason is that they are known for a potentially harmful effect on organisms.
However, the researchers are clear that they have not yet concluded whether the water in the bottles is harmful to health.
– Even though these substances are in the water, it does not mean that the water is toxic and affects us humans. The problem is that we do not know if it does. In principle, it is not okay to drink soap residues or other chemicals, says researcher Selina Tislar at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
High tolerance for natural chemicals
Henning Sørum, professor and bacteriologist at the Norwegian University of Environmental and Life Sciences, has read the report to the Danish researchers. He tells DinSide that it is important to be aware that HPLC technology is so sensitive that it can display a wide variety of chemicals at almost no molecular level.
HPLC stands for “high-performance liquid chromatography” and is a technique for identifying various components in a mixture.
– As the researchers themselves say, they are not aware of whether these substances have any harmful effect on the human organism or other living life, he writes in an e-mail to DinSide.
He points out that man is tolerant of relatively high levels of various natural chemicals that have existed in nature over thousands of years. Among other things, because we have become accustomed to them over time.
– Nevertheless, it is harmful effects of these natural chemicals when man or other living life is exposed to high levels of chemicals or that lower levels affect the organism over a long period of time. There are many examples, Sørum points out.
Important with good cleaning
When it comes to studies, Sørum says that it is important not to be too safe in any direction until you have clarified and documented the effects of substances.
– If you look at the human species, there is no doubt about having great biological success in the last hundred years, at the same time as the chemists have been very active. This indicates that there is no talk of dramatic harmful effects on health, but still we know that many diseases such as certain cancers have increased even though life expectancy and health have improved, and thus it is time to end up being more careful with chemicals. as the Danish studies suggest.
If you want to be completely safe, Sørum recommends that you use natural products. He adds that it can be a challenge since modern society has spread so many synthetic chemicals that it is hardly possible to live a life without being exposed to this.
He also points to normal holding as an important point, and shows that it is studying whether to remain from detergents as a source of many chemicals.
– Thus, one can start focusing on the choice of soaps and the like. To advise something in that area, it may make sense to recommend good mechanical cleaning that reduces or eliminates-makes use of soap. Using brushes made of metal or something else can also mature bottles inside, which in turn can increase the surface and leaks of chemicals, he concludes.