The risks of Bisphenol A in water bottles spurs Nalgene to produce BPA-free bottles

The reusable water bottle toted everywhere from class to the gym may be a neat color, covered in stickers and sized just right for a backpack compartment, but the well-loved vessel might not carry only liquids. It may also contain a chemical that could be hazardous to students’ health.

Older Nalgene bottles contain a compound called Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that concerns researchers, health officials and consumers.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that the risk from BPA may go beyond affecting laboratory rats to having consequences for human health.

The study determined that the higher the BPA exposure, the more likely it may be that an adult could develop cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, or liver-enzyme abnormalities.

Steve Gilbert, affiliate professor to the environmental sciences department at the UW, echoed the study’s findings.

“Studies have shown that a lot of people have BPA in their system already,” he said. “From food supply and containers.”

The manufacturer of Nalgene bottles, Nalgene Outdoor Products, a division of Thermo Fisher Scientific, decided last April to cease the production of bottles made with BPA. The National Toxicology Program had publicly announced that it was concerned about the amount of BPA present in the polycarbonate plastic from which Nalgene bottles and many other products are made, said staff scientist at the Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC), Erika Schreder.

This prompted the Canadian government to consider placing BPA on its dangerous substances list — a move that has regulatory power. Soon after, Nalgene began production of BPA-free bottles. However, those purchased before April still contain the chemical.

The WTC, an organization devoted to protecting public and environmental health by eliminating toxic chemicals in consumer products, is concerned about BPA because it is produced at very high volumes; the plastic containing it is used in many products other than water bottles, including food cans, baby bottles, CDs and DVDs.

“It affects the development of fetuses, even with very low exposure levels.” Schreder said. “When the rodent is pregnant and treated with BPA, the effects are seen on the offspring. We’re most concerned about the brain development problems linked to BPA exposure causing greater aggression, hindered learning and hyperactivity.”

Fetal exposure also affected reproductive development in adult rodents. Schreder said an early onset of puberty in females and lower sperm count and testosterone production in males are some of the effects.

Scientific studies do not make an irrefutable conclusion about the harmful effects of the compound, but both Gilbert and Schreder believe it’s unsafe to ignore the possible danger.

“People should really be switching to stainless steel water bottles,” Gilbert said. “Or they should just use glasses to drink tap water.”

Gilbert believes that it does not only come down to the consumers to protect themselves from potentially dangerous compounds such as BPA.

“We need to have the industry produce data demonstrating that these compounds are safe,” he said. “Rather than just producing billions of pounds of the compound, putting it on the market, exposing everyone to it and worrying about the risk later. It’s just shortsighted and stupid.”

Schreder is helping with the potential harm from BPA at a level above warning consumers.

On Sept. 12, she and several officials from the Washington State Department of Health and Ecology met with the Select Committee on Environmental Health within the Washington state House of Representatives. They informed members of the legislature on how people are exposed to BPA, where it is used, what the potential health risks are and what governmental and industry action has occurred regarding BPA.

“There’s no possible legislation yet,” Schreder said. “But the House is exploring the topic,”

There is no current legisation concerning BPA, and the future consequences of this compound are still unclear. As of now, consumers’ health is still in their own hands.

Reach reporter Camden Swita at features@dailyuw.com.