Next time you鈥檙e washing your hair, spare a thought for your neighbours鈥� health. A report by the UK鈥檚 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) says chemicals from consumer products and drugs could be breaking down and recombining into a harmful brew in water supplies.
The report, released on Monday, says synthetic chemicals in shampoos, perfumes, medicines and other healthcare products that are washed down the drain are sneaking through the filters at water purification plants. The list includes phthalates, a family of some 120 chemicals linked to reproductive problems in men and wildlife, and parabens, a preservative with a suspected link to breast cancer.
Though concentrations of such chemicals in water are probably too low to be harmful, the effects of their breakdown products are poorly understood, says Jeff Hardy of the RSC. 鈥淲e do not know if the breakdown products affect the health of people.鈥� The cocktail effect may also make these chemicals more harmful, he adds.
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