A question that might seem strange occurred to me this morning, and then I realized that part of the answer simply transcends my knowledge. The question: In environmental concerns, what would be worse--the increased water consumption of shaving the legs, or scads of potassium thioglycolate in the wastewater? (e.g., Women, competitive swimmers, bicyclists, and others who commonly shave their legs using depilatory creams?)

Hence the chemistry question: What happens to potassium thioglycolate once it is in the wastewater system? How does it break down?

As to the environmental debate, it belongs elsewhere. It was simply the context of the question as it occurred to me.

Thanks.

In itself, it seems to be a particularly undangerous chemical for something with such an unpleasant smell.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12866706&dopt=AbstractPlus

In air it becomes the disulphide, and I suppose bacteria get to work on that.
What happens then? Probably no-one knows for sure.

Most interesting. And thank you. I don't know what else to put here that doesn't invoke the green debate.