Polycarbonate Bottles Raise Questions

abcnews.go.com ^ | Dec. 24, 2007 | BEN DOBBIN

[neverdem]

However, an expert panel of researchers reported at a U.S. government conference that the potential for BPA to affect human health is a concern, and more research is needed. The panel cited evidence that Americans have levels of BPA higher than those found to cause harm in lab animals.

That's not very comforting.

[Thrownatbirth]

Nalgene was championed by the enviros over conventional plastic containers. It's a extemely popular product in sports, camping and backpacking. A warning or ban on Nalgene will have expensive consequences in the outdoor industry, not to mention millions of annoyed customers.

That's what you get when you listen to tree-huggers.

[The Energizer]

I received a water bottle for Christmas, but I cannot determine if it contains this material. Nothing on the bottle itself lists what it is made of.

Anyone know how to tell?

[Scarchin]

Everybody Panic!!!

[Thrownatbirth]

Anyone know how to tell?

I just bought a set for camping. :-(

It's a clear, hard plastic that looks like glass at a distance but is lighter than you'd expect. If your first impression is "won't that crack and shatter?", it's probably Nalgene.

[Cvengr]

What other report would one expect from the National Institute of Health? All their revenue is based upon grant monies being sent for research studies. Why wouldn’t they recommend further study?

[billorites]

Nalgenes rock.

The effects of dehydration are much more serious than the risk that you'll grow man-boobs.

[Quix]

PING

[Gorzaloon]

I received a water bottle for Christmas, but I cannot determine if it contains this material. Nothing on the bottle itself lists what it is made of.

Anyone know how to tell?

Isn't there a triangular recycle logo molded into the bottom?

Take a Q-Tip, dip it in acetone (Fingernail polish will work) and rub it on the bottle. If a thin film softens and glues cotton lint to the bottle, it could be Lexan (Polycarbonate). This plastic is used in cheap drugstore reading glasses, and since I often work with acetone, it is quite a nuisance to see tiny droplets making fisheyes on the lenses when I leave them on the bench and get clumsy.

There are other plastics like the butyrates that acetone will dissolve, but they are not used in food packaging.

Polycarbonate/urethane copolymers have been FDA aproved for use in some implants, and Lexan has been used in disposable labware such as Petri dishes for decades. I really would not worry about it, myself.

People who run injection molding machines are exposed to the fumes from the hot plastics. Since Lexan has been used for decades, if there were serious hazards, they would have shown up among these people, who would have had bisphenol A exposures many times that of the general population.

[Adder]

AI-EEEEEEEEEE!!!
I’m tossing all of them right away!
But wait....they are polyCARBONate and I will be increasing global temperatures and making it colder at the same time!

What a bunch of overblown crap....another carbon based residue.

Anyone know if the CSIP is involved? I bet their finger prints are all over these bottles.

[Moonman62]

An expert panel of 38 academic and government researchers who attended a National Institutes of Health-sponsored conference said in a study in August that "the potential for BPA to impact human health is a concern, and more research is clearly needed."

Translation: We missed out on the global warming scare. Send money.

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Someone needs to trademark “ohmygodweareallgoingtodie!”.

There’s no one going to survive this life, we’re all going to die from something, so STOP WORRYING and get on with it.

[Bear_Slayer]

Great!

We got a beautiful full dish set and a complete line of tupperware from our zealot health-conscious friends.

They were worried about chemicals in the dishes transfering into food, and also the tupper plastic transferring into food during the microwave process. I can use a new sports bottle. I'll have to send him a link to this article.

[Moonman62]

Nalgenes rock.

A used Gatorade bottle works for me.

[Kozak]

OMGWAAGTD©

[longtermmemmory]

The new alar,
new ddt scare

MSM looking for a new panic.

[GRRRRR]

Here are the doses required to cause death in 50% of a test population:

http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BI/bisphenol_A.html

ORL means oral dose, MAM is an unspecified mammal, probably a rabbit. RAT is a rat, MUS is a mouse, IPR means intraperitoneal dose (inside the stomach lining).

The dosages are in milligrams, so 6500 mg PER KILO will cause death in a mammal...that is 6.5 grams you would have to eat! Toxicology Toxicity data

ORL-MAM LD50 6500 mg kg-1

ORL-RAT LD50 3250 mg kg-1

ORL-MUS LD50 2400 mg kg-1

IPR-MUS LD50 150 mg kg-1

ORL-RBT LD50 2230 mg kg-1

ORL-GPG LD50 4000 mg kg-1

From what I've read and been told the Polycarbonate materials we use every day are perfectly safe to use. IF you microwave your food or drink in these, day after day after day, then you MIGHT leach out a mg or two in about a year...you'll breath in more carcinogens by walking down the street...

[sam_paine]

Anyone know how to tell? Isn't there a triangular recycle logo molded into the bottom?

[raybbr]

But Ellen Guisto, 31, a stay-at-home mother of two, said a growing chorus of concern about the chemical makes her hesitate. "I'm not an alarmist by nature but if I hear there's a chance that this may cause cancer, I don't think I would use it," she said.

Too funny!

[Dr.Zoidberg]

Needs the “!”, but that’s a good start.