Sunday, December 30, 2007
Problems with Nalgene?
As I mentioned in a 10/31/07 review, I've been a Nalgene fan. Now I'm wondering if that entry might not have been an inadvertent Halloween trick. According to the Associated Press, there are some concerns that the chemical composition, BPA, can leech out. Apparently there is no doubt that BPA can mimic hormones; the question is whether the amount that can come off the bottles - or the food containers, I'd have to guess - could cause problems. According to the story, some chains have already dumped BPA-based products, including Nalgene bottles, and there are supposed to be some alternatives. Also, not all Nalgene products are made of BPA. Those on the fence might want to read this:
Citing multiple studies in the United States, Europe and Japan, the chemicals industry maintains that polycarbonate bottles contain little BPA and leach traces considered too low to harm humans.I certainly don't know one way or the other whether the products could cause problems, but my general approach to such things is not to take unnecessary chances.
But critics point to an influx of animal studies linking low doses to a wide variety of ailments — from breast and prostate cancer, obesity and hyperactivity, to miscarriages and other reproductive failures.
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."
Fred vom Saal, a professor of biology at the University of Missouri and one of the study's chief authors said the panel reviewed 700 published articles on BPA, practically all published in the last 10 years. Yet U.S. health and environmental regulators "are pretending they're still in the dark," he said.
