PET bottles could be harmful to health

02 May 2009

Over the years, it was widely presumed that drinking water out of PET water bottles was safe. Not any more, as scientists in Germany have found that they may pose a health risk.

Research done by scientists at Goethe University in Frankfurt, have found out that plastic bottles are usually made out of polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which may contain hormone-disrupting chemicals that leak from the plastic into the water.

Lead researcher of the study Martin Wagner and a colleague found out that estrogenic activity increased in mineral water kept in plastic bottles when genetically engineered yeast was introduced compared to low activity in glass bottles.

Wagner found out that the levels of these compounds in the water were high in plastic bottles compared to those kept in glass bottles and said that most probably if somebody drank water from a plastic bottle, there was a high probability of that person drinking estrogenic compounds.

Wagner also ruled out that the water could be source of the estrogenic compounds since German mineral water comes form natural springs.

Wagner introduced tiny species of snails that are sensitive to estrogenic compounds, in empty plastic bottles as well as glass bottles and after eight weeks found out that female snails introduced in the empty plastic bottles carried more than twice the number of embryos inside their bodies compared to snails introduced in empty glass bottles.