May 24th, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
How much more proof do we need to show conclusively that Bisphenol A is a major concern and needs to be banned? A new study was just released by the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. The study was conducted by members of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (part of the Centers for Disease Control), Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School (although the study clearly notes that the results “do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”)
This study tested the BPA levels in the urine of 77 people after a week of consuming most of their cold beverages in polycarbonate bottles. For those of you who are not familiar with polycarbonate, it is the plastic that is typically labeled with #7 – such as Nalgene bottles and the big plastic bottles used for water coolers.
The bad news? The results showed that BPA levels rose 66% after just one week of drinking from the bottles. They state that “regular consumption of cold beverages from polycarbonate bottles is associated with substantial increase in urinary BPA concentrations irrespective of exposure to BPA from other sources.” Yipes.
So definitely throw out your polycarbonate bottles if you haven’t already. Use glass or stainless steel (watch for plastic liners too that can leach BPA) – or even #2 sports bottles if you have to use plastic.
Anonymous
said,
May 26, 2009 at 3:21 am
This is what the Nalgene website had to say: http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/technical/recycle_code7.html
So who is correct?
GardenGirl
said,
May 27, 2009 at 6:37 am
Great point – thanks for the link! To be clear, I should have said “throw away your Nalgene unless it clearly states that it is BPA free”. Nalgene has only just recently begun to manufacture BPA free plastic bottles. In another link (http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/PDFs/Nalgene_BPAStatement.pdf) they state that their bottles do have BPA, but they believe the amount transferred into the water is not harmful. My belief is that if you can easily avoid it, you should to be safe. All #7 plastic should be considered unsafe from BPA UNLESS it states that it is BPA-free.