Was that lousy timing or what? Two days after Seattle voters voted down the bag tax, we hear that scientists have determined that plastic bags can be toxic to humans and animals as they decompose, reports the British newspaper, the Independent. "A study has found that as plastics break down in the sea they release potentially toxic substances not found in nature and which could affect the growth and development of marine organisms."We have known from passing sailboats that there are huge plastic garbage bag patches, said to be larger than the state of Texas, between California and Hawaii. Now, researchers at Nihon University in Japan have found that that plastic is not stable but decomposes as it is exposed to rain and sun, releasing potentially toxic chemicals.
