1. Plastic Water Bottles Exposed to Heat Can Be Toxic
What Is Known
Don’t drink water from plastic bottles left in a hot place for a long time. Chemicals in plastics, mainly antimony (Sb) and Bisphenol A (BPA) can leach into any liquid in a plastic bottle. Research demonstrates that these chemicals can potentially cause diseases (such as cancer) when consumed. Consider this: plastic bottles are filled in a factory that has evaporative coolers. The bottles then go into an un-air-conditioned warehouse, get transported in an un-air-conditioned truck. Placed in another warehouse before being placed in an air conditioned store for you to buy the plastic water bottles, take them home; place a few bottles in a refrigerator and the remainder of the bottles in the un- air conditioned garage or carport.
Antimony (Sb)
When subjected to heat, antimony leaches from the plastic bottle into the water. At 39°F (4°C), 3.18 nanograms per liter (or 0.00318 parts per billion) leached. At 77°F (25°C), 6.88 ng/L (0.00688 ppb) leached from the plastic bottle. At 158°F (70°C), temperature inside a car in Arizona in just a few minutes, levels of antimony increased to 2604 ng/L (2.604 ppb). Virtually all plastic water bottles are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and typically contain 190–300 mg/kg of antimony. Bottled waters become contaminated during storage due to a release of antimony from PET plastic. Actually, almost all packaged drinks are made from PET plastic. This includes milk, coffee, and acidic juice, among types of food containers. Adults drinking 2 Liters of water a day, from a plastic bottle may experience an increase in cancer, increased blood cholesterol or decreased blood sugar, due to the consumption of antimony.
Bisphenol A (BPA)
BPA leached from the water bottle to the water when bottles were left in temperatures of 39 o F to an increased amount at 158 F (70 C) to an average of 23.4/ ng/L (0.0234 ppb). BPA is also a key ingredient in modern plastics found and the inner lining of canned foods, and it may act as hormone disrupter where synthetic chemicals called xenoestrogens (synthetic estrogen) mimic estrogen and attach to estrogen receptors (fooling the body into thinking its estrogen). This process interferes with the normal functioning of hormones. One study in prostate cancer cells showed that very low concentrations of BPA activated the androgen receptor and initiated proliferation of cancer cells, independent of testosterone (Wetherill et al. 2002).
BPA is found in plastics and canned goods. Canned goods of tomato sauce, vegetables and soups may contain the chemical in the inner lining called epoxy resins to avoid corrosion of the metal. Epoxy resins are filled with BPA.
BPA enters the body when, let’s say, a plastic water bottle, is washed, heated or stressed, allowing the chemical to leach into the liquid and then enter the body.
Do This
Decrease exposure: Plastic bottles have a recycling code at the bottom of the bottle that looks like a triangular arrow around a number. Water in plastic bottles numbered 1 (Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and 2 (High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)), are relatively safe to drink from. Avoid these numbers: 3 (Polyvinyl Chloride), 6 (Polystyrene) and 7 (Other – using more than one resin). Plastics especially with the Number 7 contain BPA. Don’t use old plastic water bottles. Exposures to plastics chemicals may be greater when the surface is worn down. Don’t wash your plastic drinking bottle in the dishwasher. The big don’t of course is “don’t leave water in plastic bottles in your car”. Use stainless steel or glass/ glass lined bottles for utensils in lieu of plastics.
References
Westerhoff, P., Prapaipong, P., Shock, E., Hillaireau, A. (2008). Antimony leaching from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic used for bottled drinking water. Water Res. 42: 551–556.
World Health Organization. Water Sanitation Health: Antimony in drinking water. Accessed 1 October, 2014. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/0304_74/en/index9.html
Fan YY, Zheng JL, Ren JH, Luo J, Cui XY, Ma LQ. (2014). Effects of storage temperature and duration on release of antimony and bisphenol A from polyethylene terephthalate drinking water bottles of China. Environmental Pollution 192:113-20.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. December 7, 2010
2. Want To Know More About The Colorado Drought Contingency Plan? Arizona Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan Discussion
On June 28, the Arizona Department of Water Resources and the Central Arizona Project hosted a briefing on the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan and Arizona’s Colorado River water supply. View the agenda, presentations and video here.
A followup technical meeting will be held July 10, 2018, 1-4 p.m. Heard Museum (2301 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004)
3. Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Technical Working Group Wants Volunteers. CWA 404 Technical Working Groups | Apply Now
Thank you to the stakeholders who participated in this week’s meetings and provided feedback on the formation of technical working groups (TWGs) to assist in the development of a roadmap for ADEQ’s assumption of the Clean Water Act Section 404 (CWA 404) Program.
Based on stakeholder feedback, a new TWG was added to review the current jurisdictional determination process and provide a recommendation on whether ADEQ should follow the same process. In addition, the Cultural Resources/Tribal Considerations TWG was changed to focus only on cultural and historical resources. ADEQ will be meeting with Tribal leadership to determine how they wish to be involved in the process.
If you are interested in volunteering to serve on a TWG, please click the link below and provide brief information about your background and interest. It should only take about five minutes to complete the application. The application includes more detail on the formation and role of the working groups.
TWG Membership Application
Please complete the application by 8:00 a.m., Monday, July 16, 2018. Thank you for your participation.
4. Astroshed in July. Known since ancient times, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can normally all be seen with the naked eye. Greeks called them “wandering stars,” or “asteres planetai.” This July, all five move into positions that make for optimal viewing.
Start looking west just after sunset. Venus will be the first object to stand out in the fading twilight, shining brilliantly as it sinks toward the horizon. Look to the lower right of Venus to spot Mercury, which will be even closer to the horizon than Venus.
From July 3 to 4, Mercury passes through the Beehive Cluster. On July 9 and 10, Venus skims the top of Regulus in the constellation Leo. Bag these two planets early in the evening because they will set as the rest of the planets shift across the sky, first rising in the east and then gliding above the southern horizon. On July 14, the crescent moon is near Mercury, and the next night it sidles up to Venus.
Known since ancient times, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn can normally all be seen with the naked eye. Greeks called them “wandering stars,” or “asteres planetai.” This July, all five move into positions that make for optimal viewing.
Start looking west just after sunset. Venus will be the first object to stand out in the fading twilight, shining brilliantly as it sinks toward the horizon. Look to the lower right of Venus to spot Mercury, which will be even closer to the horizon than Venus.
From July 3 to 4, Mercury passes through the Beehive Cluster. On July 9 and 10, Venus skims Page 4 the top of Regulus in the constellation Leo. Bag these two planets early in the evening because they will set as the rest of the planets shift across the sky, first rising in the east and then gliding above the southern horizon. On July 14, the crescent moon is near Mercury, and the next night it sidles up to Venus.
Look for Jupiter as it gets dark—the red giant will be halfway between rising and setting, closest to the south. Jupiter and the moon hang out on July 20. Usually Jupiter is the second-brightest planet in the night sky, but this month Mars is so close and bright it sneaks into second place. However, it doesn’t rise until Mercury and Venus are setting.
You’ll find Saturn in the southeast, drifting through the thickest part of the Milky Way Galaxy. Use binoculars or a telescope to see its rings and search the region for deep-sky delights. If you don’t have binoculars or a telescope, look at the stretch of the Milky Way below Saturn and see if you can make out the Great Rift, a dark area created by thick clouds of gas and dust that blocks the stars behind it from shining through. Saturn and the moon keep company on July 24.
Lastly, Mars will be rising in the south-southeast just as Mercury disappears on the opposite side of the sky. Mars’ close proximity to Earth right now makes it appear especially large and bright, although with your eyes alone, Mars will still mostly look like a reddish-orange dot. The planet reaches opposition July 27 just a few hours before the full moon. At that time, the moon also happens to be at apogee, or its farthest point in its orbit around Earth. This is the opposite of a supermoon, and it’s sometimes called a micromoon. Many casual observers can’t tell the difference between these variations in full moon sizes, but a micromoon can look up to 14 percent smaller than a supermoon.
Earth reaches aphelion, its farthest point from the sun, on July 6 at 9:47 A.M. PDT. Even though in North America we’re farthest from the sun at this time of year, we experience some of the warmest temperatures, because the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, and we receive more direct rays and longer hours of sunlight.
Both a total lunar eclipse and partial solar eclipse occur in July, though neither within range of the Western Hemisphere. The total lunar eclipse on July 27 will darken the moon in India, Africa, and Europe. The partial solar eclipse on July 13 will only be visible for those in the Southern Ocean, south of Australia. Source: Green Life
