nalgene Bottles Safety?

[vhp]

There were problems with nalgene water bottles especially the Polycarbonate and LEXAN models. Has Nalgene resolved these problems or are they still persistant.

 

[arcteryx79]

What kind of problems? Health problems? I've heard they have been tested to show no significant health problems with use...

 

[vhp]

A good search on Nangene safety
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=nalgene++Safety&btnG=Search

Many state the Bottles are Toxic die to the Polycarbonate resine

 

[Chiro75]

This comes from a 2003 article in the Sierra Club's magazine about the safety of sport bottles. In April of that same year, a geneticist named Patricia Hunt published a paper in Current Biology describing how chromosomal abnormalities spiked in a group of mice they were studying. They traced it to a cleaning agent that was being used on the mice cages that contained a chemical, known to be a xenoestrogen (mimics the effects of estrogen) called bisphenol-A (BPA).

Sierra Club's writer then made a fantastic leap, lead by several "experts" including Hunt, to say that the Lexan used in bottles, like Nalgene's, is unsafe for humans, that it leaches BPA into whatever is stored in it, that washing them may release BPA, etc etc.

Hunt's study did not look at food-grade Lexan, which is different from other mixes of the plastic. Just logically speaking, the form the chemical comes in just MIGHT have an effect on how it effects the body. For example, the mercury in your fillings has a drastically different level of toxicity than if you were to drink some pure mercury, or huff a can full of mercury vapor.

When Hunt was pressed on some of these issues, she changed her tune a little and said that what her study DID show was a need for further testing of Lexan food grade plastic and checking for levels of BPA under different conditions. I would agree.

Sure, Lexan is potentially nasty stuff, and just based on basic chemistry, I would probably avoid using old bottles, drinking stuff that was at high temps in the bottle (like a bottle left on your dash in the middle of summer for a couple days) and heating stuff up in Lexan in the microwave. Common sense, you can't be too careful, etc.

If you really want to play it safe, get rid of your Lexan bottles and use #2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), #4 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and #5 polypropylene (PP) bottles.

 

[vhp]

This comes from a 2003 article in the Sierra Club's magazine about the safety of sport bottles. In April of that same year, a geneticist named Patricia Hunt published a paper in Current Biology describing how chromosomal abnormalities spiked in a group of mice they were studying. They traced it to a cleaning agent that was being used on the mice cages that contained a chemical, known to be a xenoestrogen (mimics the effects of estrogen) called bisphenol-A (BPA).

Sierra Club's writer then made a fantastic leap, lead by several "experts" including Hunt, to say that the Lexan used in bottles, like Nalgene's, is unsafe for humans, that it leaches BPA into whatever is stored in it, that washing them may release BPA, etc etc.

Hunt's study did not look at food-grade Lexan, which is different from other mixes of the plastic. Just logically speaking, the form the chemical comes in just MIGHT have an effect on how it effects the body. For example, the mercury in your fillings has a drastically different level of toxicity than if you were to drink some pure mercury, or huff a can full of mercury vapor.

When Hunt was pressed on some of these issues, she changed her tune a little and said that what her study DID show was a need for further testing of Lexan food grade plastic and checking for levels of BPA under different conditions. I would agree.

Sure, Lexan is potentially nasty stuff, and just based on basic chemistry, I would probably avoid using old bottles, drinking stuff that was at high temps in the bottle (like a bottle left on your dash in the middle of summer for a couple days) and heating stuff up in Lexan in the microwave. Common sense, you can't be too careful, etc.

If you really want to play it safe, get rid of your Lexan bottles and use #2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), #4 Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and #5 polypropylene (PP) bottles.

great information sir.

what other companies do you recommend.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Actually . . .

"Lexan" is composed of a salt of bisphenol A ("BPA") and phosgene.

Case Western Reserve University was doing a study of birth defects in mice. There was a sudden spike in birth defects of a particular type, "aneuploidy," the leading cause of birth defects in Homo Sap.

This spike was traced to the leeching of bisphenol A, a mutigenic chemical, out of the Lexan (Type "7" plastic) from which the mouse cages were constructed.

The leeching was determined to result from the cages being washed with harsh, akaline-based detergent and very hot water. These are the conditions found in most home dishwashers, whose detergents have been known to etch glass and remove gold trim from dishes.

These results were reported in April 2003, Current Biology, a professional journal.

The same results have been found in 90% of the over 100 studies that have folllowed -- except the 10-12 studies financed by the plastics industry, which found no health risk.

The most exhaustive, and peer-reviewed, study was by the University of Missouri and is reported in the April 13, 2005, edition of Environmental Health Prospectives, another pretigious professional journal.

This health risk has also been reported in Biology of Reporduction, Journal of Lipid Research, and Molecular Therapudics. These are all serious, professional journals.

While continuing to deny any risk, the manufactuer of Lexan has withdrawn Lexan as a material for baby bottles.

The risk is certainly reduced by hand-washing with ordinary liquid dish detergent.

Leeching of BPA is also caused by contact with Chlorine (AKA "bleach").

The older "Nalgene" bottles (think milk jug plastic) do not have this problem. Nor do the Type 1 plastic bottles used for drinking water and pop.

Given the availability of cheaper, more durable alternatives, I threw my Lexan bottles away.

I can find no record of Professor Patricia Hunt altering her opinion as to the results of her study.

 

[Gollnick]

But Nalgene's original market (which they still serve) was containers for chemical reagents in laboratories where contamination is unacceptable.

 

[mete]

There can be a vast difference in plastics between standard types and food grade or FDA approved types .For those who are interested it's long been known that Glad Wrap should be used over Saran Wrap since Glad wrap is food grade polyethylene and Saran wrap is a different plastic which contains a plasticizer which leaches into the food.Hefty Zip lock bags definitely, and within 24 hours in the refrigerator , contaminate the food that's in the bag !!! Welcome to our chemical world where since 1960 there have been 8 MILLION new chemicals invented ,with some 70,000 used regularly [American Chemical Society figures ].

 

[Uncle Timbo]

You think you've got it bad, I drank water contaminated with C8 ( the chemical used to make Teflon ) from Dupont Washington Works for over 25 years. I'm 50 and I figure my toenails will glow in the dark by the time I'm 60... if I make it that far.

 

[Dogsmeadow]

Nalgene makes nice bottles out of "safer" polyethylenes as well. I switched to Sigg aluminum, just because they are kinda cool.
Jim

 

[Gollnick]

I switched to Sigg aluminum, just because they are kinda cool.

But Aluminum in food and water has been linked to Alzheimers (sp?).

Everything gives you cancer. There's no cure. There's no answer.

 

[Thomason]

Someone mentioned Klean Kanteen, so I tracked 'um down and bought a couple. Similar to the Sigg but with a wider mouth and made of stainless steel. Gollnick is right in that you would most likely still get cancer but it would be a different kind than you would get with aluminum or polyethylene. You shouldn't limit yourself to one type of cancer when there are some many varieties to explore.
(Seriously, the Klean Kanteens are pretty nice)

 

[Chiro75]

The Scientific Committee on Food from the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate of the European Commission concluded that food grade Lexan is no problem in their 2003 report.

This is the thing with science. Even scientific studies are wide open to interpretation, especially in this day and age when scientists don't mind fudging data. Be careful how you interpret the baby food industry's response to this stuff. Did they stop using Lexan because they found it to be harmful, or because their lawyers said "Gee, this is a possibility, so let's switch before people catch on and sue our asses off..."? Who knows. The bottom line is that there is a risk, so you may as well use something else. Most food grade stainless steel bottles would be a good choice. Can you get SS or aluminum that is wrapped around glass? That'd be even better.

I use Lexan.

I think if people were healthier and their bodies worked right to begin with, they wouldn't have as many problems with this sort of stuff, but that's just unsubstantiated opinion. Clearly, the amount of chemicals we subject ourselves to is frightening, and you can see the effects on the health of our nation. Scary stuff!

 

[Evolute]

It was I who mentioned Klean Kanteen.

I've been really pleased with mine. In comparison to the Nalgene Lexan bottles, the Klean Kanteens are:

1) Far less prone to breakage;

2) Easier to klean;

3) Possibly safer;

4) Potentially useful for self defense.

Also, this is kind of nebulous and perhaps silly, but they feel nicer, and I find them vaguely more satisfying, in that high-quality, well-made-tool kind of way.

 

[Thomas Linton]

But Nalgene's original market (which they still serve) was containers for chemical reagents in laboratories where contamination is unacceptable.

Perhaps that is why Nalgene does not use Lexan for those containers.

 

[Thomas Linton]

But Aluminum in food and water has been linked to Alzheimers (sp?).

That was an urban legend never supported by science. Like the Allar scare. (It was a great little boon for the makers of SS pots and pans.)

Everything gives you cancer. There's no cure. There's no answer.

Not everything causes cancer and some cancers now have a very high (> 75%) cure rate.