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How Safe is Your Water Bottle – The Debate Continues over BPA
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(09/26/09) With growing concerns for health and a migration away from soda, Americans drank 8.7 billion gallons of bottled water last year. The water itself is probably fine, but there is continuing debate about BPA which leeches from the plastic bottle, and if it is safe at any level.
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September 26, 2009 -- O.K., as a health-conscious consumer, you don't know what's in the tap water, so, you shell out $1.50 for a bottle of water from a trusted distributor. Health worries are over, right? Well, maybe not.
There is a continuing debate over the hazards of a particular compound found in some plastic bottles. The compound is Bisphenol A, commonly referred to as BPA. It turns out this chemical leeches into the liquid and is absorbed by the body in trace amounts. If the bottle is heated, as with a baby bottle, or a water bottle left in a hot car in the summer, the rate of absorption increases. |
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…better yet, revert to our parents generation and use glass bottles.
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A popular trend, Americans drank 8.7 billion gallons of bottled water last year
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Although already banned in Canada, Minnesota, and Connecticut, in February of 2009, a bill was introduced in California to ban BPA from infant formula cans and baby bottles and cups. However earlier this month that bill failed to pass. Can we thus conclude that BPA is safe or is it the target of politics? The debate continues.
BPA is used in hundreds of everyday products. It is used to make reusable, hard plastic bottles more durable and to help prevent corrosion in canned goods such as soup and infant formula.
Landmark Harvard Findings
Earlier this year, a Harvard School of Public Health study supported what many public health specialists have long assumed: Hard plastic drinking bottles containing Bisphenol A are leaching notable amounts of the controversial chemical into people's bodies.
Researchers found that people who drank for a week from the clear plastic polycarbonate bottles increased concentrations of BPA in their urine by 69%. |
O.K. that it gets absorbed into the body is conclusive, the big question is at what levels does BPA in the body become hazardous to health?
Health Risks of BPA
The actual risks of BPA are still a matter of public debate, but over the past decade a growing body of scientific studies have linked the chemical to breast and prostrate cancer, infertility, obesity, and neurological and behavioral changes, including autism and hyperactivity.
Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor, it can mimic the body's own hormones, which may lead to negative health effects if the dosage is high. There are theories that it may contribute to body fat development.
A September 2008 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that higher levels of urinary BPA is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities.
On the flip side, the Boston Globe reported that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that products containing BPA are safe and that exposure levels, including those for infants and children, are below those that would affect health.
Why Take the Risk
Whenever a substance is controversial, it's usually best to avoid it when possible.
Many single-use water bottles sold in the U.S. are made from BPA-free plastic, but some containers are definitely made from plastic containing it. Given a choice, a product absent of BPA should obviously be considered
Turn your bottle over and look for a number stamped on the bottom. Number 1 bottles are commonly used for sodas and water and may be safe for single use. Bottles stamped with 3, 6 or 7 are less safe and should be avoided - or better yet, revert to our parents generation and use glass bottles.
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