On Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:20:23 +1000, Terryc wrote:

Charles wrote:
Poor fellow was apparently concerned about growing breasts from drinking
recycled water that might have had female urine, and thus oestrogen, in it.

It sounds funny, but there is a serious scientific claim behind it.

What? A serious scientific claim behind the link between oestrogen in
recycled water and male breasts? Where pray tell?

considering that it is commonly said that the water from the thames has
already passed through seven sets of Kidneys before it reaches the sea.

If this is true, and most likely it is, then the lack of London
males growing unexplained breasts surely puts the lie to that particular
scaremongering pseudo-factoid (that oestrogen in urine could lead to male
breast growing).

The concept of water passing through several kidneys before reaching the
sea makes sense to me in any long standing area. In an city/town i, say,
Europe that stands on a river, they are/have been drinking the treated
effluent of the town upstream for centuries.

And the nay-sayers claim there are no long-term studies...maybe not, but
I think the sheer weight of anecdotal evidence has to tip the balance.

Charles
--
If some days are diamonds and some days are stone....
Then some days I live in a quarry!!