J&A
New member
Just wanted to disseminate some info before this is off of our minds...
although some e-mails in circulation are not completely well-founded, it is true that as is the case in most areas of sciences where economics plays an important role, there are conflicting reports.
dioxin is an endocrine disrupter, and is present in many plastic wraps. other chemicals that people might recognize in this class are DDT and PCBs (both banned now). as such, it's most harmful for organisms in the initial stages of development (fetuses), slightly less harmful to newborns, and least harmful to adults. of course, it is stored in fat, and so it gets most readily taken up by fatty foods.
basically, the effect of endrocrine disrupters is to get in the way of hormonal signals (inhibiting or promoting) them. hormones, of course, are ways that developing organisms can effect changes at a distance from the source where the hormones are released. in frogs, hormones play an important role in secondary sex determination, and in one serendipitous case, frog eggs that develped in water that had been stored in nalgene containers all became female due to the effect of the dioxins in the plastic.
wraps made of polyethylene, on the other hand, do not contain plasticizers. iceNsnow did service bringing this to our attention, for those like me, who are convinced that the plastics industry has something to hide!
although some e-mails in circulation are not completely well-founded, it is true that as is the case in most areas of sciences where economics plays an important role, there are conflicting reports.
dioxin is an endocrine disrupter, and is present in many plastic wraps. other chemicals that people might recognize in this class are DDT and PCBs (both banned now). as such, it's most harmful for organisms in the initial stages of development (fetuses), slightly less harmful to newborns, and least harmful to adults. of course, it is stored in fat, and so it gets most readily taken up by fatty foods.
basically, the effect of endrocrine disrupters is to get in the way of hormonal signals (inhibiting or promoting) them. hormones, of course, are ways that developing organisms can effect changes at a distance from the source where the hormones are released. in frogs, hormones play an important role in secondary sex determination, and in one serendipitous case, frog eggs that develped in water that had been stored in nalgene containers all became female due to the effect of the dioxins in the plastic.
wraps made of polyethylene, on the other hand, do not contain plasticizers. iceNsnow did service bringing this to our attention, for those like me, who are convinced that the plastics industry has something to hide!
