Staying hydrated is one of the fundamental goals of everyday life and having a bottle nearby is the best way to achieve it. However, it has surely happened to you that if you leave the water in a plastic bottle from one day to the next, you notice a certain flavor in it. This could be because hundreds of chemicals are released, many of them harmful.
This has been the conclusion of a study by the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) that has analyzed the chemical substances that are released in reusable plastic bottles with tap water inside. The results, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, indicated that after one day filled, more than 400 different substances were found from the plastic of the bottle and more than 3,500 substances derived from dishwashing soap.
“We were surprised by the large amount of chemicals we found in the 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”, explains Jan H. Christensen, one of the authors of the study.
Washing the bottle in the dishwasher increases the chemicals
Although many of the substances found are unknown and have yet to be identified, at least 70% of those that were known were found to be toxic to humans. One of them are photoinitiators, which harm the health of organisms by considering them as endocrine disruptors – they alter the function of hormones – and carcinogens.
Although it cannot yet be said that this water from reusable plastic bottles is toxic, the author recommends using glass or stainless steel bottles.
A variety of plastic softeners, antioxidants, and release agents used in the manufacture of plastic were also found, as well as diethyltoluamide (DEET), known as the active substance that is present in mosquito repellant. All of this was found when the reused plastic bottles had held tap water for 24 hours, both before and after they were washed in the dishwasher, and even when thoroughly rinsed with water.
“The thing that is released the most after machine washing is the soapy substances on the surface. Most of the chemicals that come from the water bottle remain after the machine wash and extra rinse. The most toxic substances we identified were actually produced after the bottle had been in the dishwasher, presumably because washing wears down the plastic and thus increases leaching,” said Selina Tisler, first author of the research.
It has also clarified that although these substances are in the water, it does not make it toxic and affects humans, however, it is still not known for sure what the effects of consuming these soap residues and other chemical products are. Following these results, the author recommends using quality glass or stainless steel bottles.
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