[lincspoacher]

Ok, if I need to wheel out the research, try

Disturbance of cerebral function in people exposed to drinking water contaminated with aluminium sulphate: retrospective study of the Camelford water incident

Paul Altmann, John Cunningham, Usha Dhanesha, Margaret Ballard, James Thompson, and Frank Marsh
BMJ 1999 319: 807-811

of which the vital bit is at the bottom:

Conclusion: People who were exposed to the contaminated water at Camelford suffered considerable damage to cerebral function, which was not related to anxiety. Follow up studies would be required to determine the longer term prognosis for affected individuals.

Key messages

    * Aluminium is a well established neurotoxin

    * Accidental contamination of drinking water in Camelford by aluminium sulphate led to symptoms of loss of concentration and short term memory that were initially attributed to anxiety

    * In residents exposed to the contaminated water psychomotor performance was poorer than predicted from premorbid IQ and the difference between flash-pattern visual evoked potentials was greater than normal

    * Anxiety did not influence either of these measures of cerebral function

    * Aluminium sulphate poisoning probably led to long term cerebral impairment in some people in Camelford

And this is the British Medical Journal, good enough for me.......

Theres various other articles from respectable experts worth reading:

Trace metals and degenerative diseases of the skeleton.

Savory J. – Bertholf R.L. – Wills M.R.

From:   Acta Pharmacol Toxicol (Copenh) (1986) 59 Suppl 7:282-8

Aluminum related osteodystrophy is the most important manifestation of trace metal toxicity related to degenerative diseases of the skeleton.

or

Neurotoxic effects of aluminium on embryonic chick brain cultures.

From:   Acta Neuropathol (Berl) (1994) 88(4):359-66

Toxic damage of brain cells by aluminium (Al) is discussed as a possible factor in the development of neurodegenerative disorders in humans. Effects of Al on cell viability (lysosomal and mitochondrial activity) and differentiation (synthesis of cell-specific proteins) were found to the brain area specific with the highest sensitivity observed in optic tectum.

or

Aluminum, a neurotoxin which affects diverse metabolic reactions.

Joshi J.G.

From:   Biofactors (1990 Jul) 2(3):163-9

Experimental evidence is summarized to support the hypothesis that chronic exposure to low levels of aluminum may lead to neurological disorders.

there really is no shortage of evidence re the sheer nastiness of Aluminium  and its salts.......

[Bernard]

I have recently bought Gaviscon for the first time in several years. It used to be simply aluminium hydroxide, but now it contains at least 9 compounds or extracts and no aluminium.  

However, there seems to be little real knowledge about its impact in a veg garden. The advice to 'keep the spray off the foliage' says nothing about possible/probable uptake throught the roots.

[KingEdward]

i think things went off on a tangent there .lol.i'll give the pop bottle a try,thnx for all relevent info  

[Bignij]

Perhaps the slugs need the Gaviscon after a night on the beer. :?