Bisphenol-A, Check the # on Your Bottle.
May 1st, 2008 . by Alex DowHow many of you drink from a Nalgene bottle? What’s the number within the triangle on the bottom? If you’ve got the wrong number down there you may be putting yourself at risk.
You’ve probably seen something in the news lately that some plastics are getting a lot of negative press; most notably, drinking bottles made with hard plastic. This all surrounds a chemical known as Bisphenol A to the chemists and engineers or “BPA” on the streets. This chemical has been shown to leach out of common plastics and cause health issues ranging from behavioral issues to irregular breast growth.
What can we do about it? Be aware that the Nalgene that most of us are drinking out of is probably contributing to our BPA intake. Also know is that not all Nalgenes are created equal. The hard polycarbonate plastics are what we want to stay away from (#7 on the bottom). The soft cloudy plastic Nalgenes (#2 in the bottom) are considered to be the safest and you’ll be happy to know that in light of the elevated attention to BPAs Nalgene is discontinuing production on their polycarbonate bottles.
BPAs are found in more places than water bottles though. Food cans, baby bottles and the fillings in our teeth also contribute to BPAs in our body. Check out the resources below for more information.
A Washington Post Article on BPAs
The other side: A response from the “American Chemistry Council”
Great post. I’ve been on either a Sigg or Klean Kanteen for a couple of years now. The BPA information is just too sketchy. Here’s a problem: I have a Nalgene here on my desk, which is a gift from a vendor. I won’t use it, and don’t want to give it to anyone else. Do I recycle? I guess so. I’m a little conflicted about the waste.