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Posted by Alicia on April 22, 2008 at 5:55:16 pm EDT
In reply to REI Pulling Polycarbonate Bottles; U.S. Draft Report says BPA Might Present Risks posted by Trailspace on April 21, 2008 at 1:18:00 pm EDT

Here’s my opinion…

There is more and more evidence that high levels of BPA are linked to health problems like reproductive issues, birth defects, cancer, and who knows what else.

BPA is obviously found in polycarbonate plastics, but it’s also found in numerous other things, such as the linings of canned food, like soup and infant formula (rather disturbing). So the BPA issues isn’t solely about how much your old Nalgene is leaching or not, but about the cumulative effects of exposure.

As stated in the US Draft report:

Quote:

Bisphenol A can migrate into food from food and beverage containers with internal epoxy resin coatings and from consumer products made of polycarbonate plastic such as baby bottles, tableware, food containers, and water bottles. The degree to which bisphenol A migrates from polycarbonate containers into liquid appears to depend more on the temperature of the liquid than the age of the container, i.e., more migration with higher temperatures (

Also, there recently was a study on the heat issue using various Nalgenes:
http://www.trailspace.com/news/2008/01/31/study-shows-heat-accelerates-bpa-release.html

So, do we know everything there is to know about BPA and polycarbonates? No.

Will you necessarily suffer any of these health problems from using a #7 Nalgene? That remains to be seen, but is it worth the risk?

Ultimately, you’ve got to make decisions based on the best info available to you at the time.

If you read the scientific info out there and decide the risk doesn’t concern you, then keep your old #7 Nalgene. No one’s going to come and take it away.

But, for me and my family, it’s not worth continuing to use polycarbonate plastic water bottles (or baby bottles and the like)—even if the risks are only potential—when there are plenty of apparently safer alternatives available. I think it’s most worrisome for infants, small children, and women of child-bearing age (and that describes all but one member of my immediate family), but it’s a valid concern for everyone. You’ve got to make your decisions based on the info you have.

It should be noted that Nalgene is not the only maker of polycarbonate water bottles, just the most popular. Nalgene also offers a number of non-BPA plastic water bottles.

I am curious to see if retailers or manufacturers will start offering some sort of trade-in incentive or not.

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