Good Enough For Mozart

A deadly toxin is getting into water from the plastic used to make the bottles, according to research. The levels of the natural chemical antimony found in the bottled water is well below official safety guidelines, but is still up to 350 times higher than levels found in the water naturally. And the scientist behind the research has vowed never to drink bottled water again.
Professor Dr Bill Shotyk discovered the longer the water remains in the bottle, the more antimony it absorbs from the plastic. In just three months the levels of antimony in the water doubled, his study revealed.
Antimony is most famous for being the poison reputedly used to kill Mozart, but today it is used in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate bottles. Most brands of water, several makes of soft drinks and other foods are contained in the bottles and about 130 billion a year are made.
Even small doses of antimony can cause headaches, dizziness and depression while larger doses cause violent vomiting and death. Antimony finds its way into the water through a process known as "leaching" when the liquid absorbs the chemical through the plastic in the way water absorbs flavor and taste from a teabag even though the tea itself remains in the bag.