Greetings, I am new to this list so the possibility of endocrine disruption from #1 plastic such as is discussed in the following study may have been thoroughly discussed: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es900885t
In any case, the ramifications of this study are worth following. The study method is also elegantly simple and sounds like something one could try at home to verify the results. The study report suggests plastic drinking bottles with polyethylene terephthalate (PET, #1 recycling designation) contain some currently unidentified mechanism of endocrine disruption (at least for snails). I believe this includes most single-portion plastic soda, drinking water, and many juice containers, which were once thought to be relatively "safe" and approved so by the FDA. The researchers simply raised a type of water snail in such PET plastic bottles along side glass bottles and compared reproductive rates. The PET plastic bottle reproductive rate was significant higher. Considering the huge quantity of these plastic bottles in our environment the past decade, not to mention the polar fleece and carpets made from recycling them, I hope this is not the reason I have so many slugs in my garden this year. Bill Evans Danby _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
