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What A Week It Was: Apocadocuments from
View By Scenario:
Species Collapse:(8)
Plague/Virus:(1)
Climate Chaos:(6)
Resource Depletion: (4)
Biology Breach:(5)
Recovery:(8)
This Week's Top Ten Very Scary Tags:
ecosystem interrelationships  ~ toxic water  ~ global warming  ~ low-energy future  ~ anthropogenic change  ~ plastic problems  ~ pesticide runoff  ~ technological innovation  ~ rights of nature  ~ toxic buildup  ~ bad policy  



ApocaDocuments (3) matching "plastic problems" from this week
[see full week] ~ [see all stories tagged "plastic problems"]
Thu, May 21, 2009
from Harvard School of Medicine, via EurekAlert:
BPA, chemical used to make plastics, found to leach from polycarbonate drinking bottles into humans
A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that participants who drank for a week from polycarbonate bottles, the popular, hard-plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles, showed a two-thirds increase in their urine of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). Exposure to BPA, used in the manufacture of polycarbonate and other plastics, has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals and has been linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes in humans. The study is the first to show that drinking from polycarbonate bottles increased the level of urinary BPA, and thus suggests that drinking containers made with BPA release the chemical into the liquid that people drink in sufficient amounts to increase the level of BPA excreted in human urine.... BPA is also found in dentistry composites and sealants and in the lining of aluminum food and beverage cans. (In bottles, polycarbonate can be identified by the recycling number 7.) Numerous studies have shown that it acts as an endocrine-disruptor in animals, including early onset of sexual maturation, altered development and tissue organization of the mammary gland and decreased sperm production in offspring. It may be most harmful in the stages of early development. ...


But BPA is everywhere. Surely it can't be bad for us.

ApocaDoc
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Thu, May 21, 2009
from Chemistry World:
Chemical pollution gets personal
In their book Slow death by rubber duck, the pair detail a weekend testing spree incorporating regular blood and urine sampling. Indoors for 12-hour shifts, they used typical amounts of personal care products and a plug-in air freshener, in a room with stain-repellent furnishings and carpets. 'We set only one ironclad rule: our efforts had to mimic real life,' says Smith. Of six different phthalates in the testing regime, rocketing levels of monoethyl phthalate (MEP) -- which the body metabolises from diethyl phthalate (DEP) the most common phthalate in cosmetics and personal care products -- were most stark. Levels in urine went from 64 to 1410ng/ml. According to the European Commission's Scientific Committee for Cosmetic Products (SCCP), traces of up to 100 ppm total or per substance pose no risk to health, although traces of banned phthalates are sometimes present due to other possible uses, such as in packaging. Phthalates are plasticising chemicals, linked to abnormal reproductive development.... Levels of bisphenol A -- an endocrine disruptor linked to breast and prostate cancer -- increased 7.5 times after eating canned foods from a microwavable, polycarbonate plastic container. ...


What if I am what I eat?

ApocaDoc
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Mon, May 18, 2009
from BusinessGreen:
Coca-Cola debuts 'PlantBottle'
Coca-Cola has become the latest firm to step up its interest in the field of bioplastics, with the unveiling last week of plastic bottles made partially from plants. Dubbed the PlantBottle, the plastic bottle is made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and 30 per cent plant-based materials sourced from sugar cane and molasses. The company said that the bottle had an edge over some other plant-based plastics, as it can be processed through existing recycling facilities without contaminating traditional PET and as a result it can still be recycled easily without having to be separated from conventional plastics. Some environmental groups have raised questions about the long-term sustainability of bioplastics, warning that as with biofuels, increased demand for crops could lead to shortages and contribute to deforestation. ...


Plastics giveth, plastics taketh away.

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