The Gear Junkie: BPA-free water bottles

By STEPHEN REGENOLD, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: April 22, 2008 - 4:28 PM

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Demand an EA-Free Bottle

Outdoorsy-types should be asking for a bottle free of chemicals that have estrogenic activity (an EA-free bottle), rather than a BPA-free … read more bottle. As you mentioned, BPA has been in news recently because it leaches chemicals with EA into the water we drink. While estrogens (the female sex hormones) occur naturally in the body, many scientific studies have shown that significant health problems can occur when chemicals are ingested that mimic or block the actions of these female sex hormones; the fetus, newborn, or young child is especially vulnerable. These health-related problems include early puberty in females, reduced sperm counts in males, altered functions of reproductive organs, obesity, altered behaviors, and increased rates of some breast, ovarian, testicular, and prostate cancers. However, BPA and phthalates are just two of several thousand chemicals that exhibit EA. These chemicals having EA leach from almost all plastics sold today, including polyethylene, polypropylene, PET, etc. That is, plastics advertised as BPA-free or phthalate-free are not EA-free; almost all these plastics still leach chemicals having EA â and often have more total EA than plastics that release BPA or phthalates. In fact, our data show that all the plastics listed in this article release chemicals having EA. Various plastics manufacturers are now attempting to solve this problem by removing chemicals having EA (BPA, phthalates) one at a time. For example, the consumer can now find an abundance of BPA-free products on the market. But are these products really the solution?? This is a marketing-driven solution, not a health-driven solution. The appropriate health-driven solution is to manufacture safer plastics that are EA-free. This is not a pie-in-the-sky solution, as the technology already exists to produce EA-free plastics that also have the same advantageous physical properties as the EA-releasing plastic products that are on the market today. In fact, some of these advanced-technology EA-free plastics are already in the marketplace. While BPA-free is the new health term of the month, consumers should be aware that their BPA-free plastic bottles often have the same, if not more, harmful EA than bottles made from BPA. George D. Bittner, PhD Professor of Biology, The University of Texas at Austin Founder: CertiChem, PlastiPure

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Bbisphenol A is a controversial compound found in polycarbonate plastics that some studies have shown to cause medical ills in lab rats. The chemical -- called BPA for short -- has been in the news recently because of a new study and a continuing push by anti-BPA groups to ban the substance.

For outdoorsy types, the fuss has been over water bottles, namely of the translucent type made by Nalgene, which employs BPA-containing polycarbonate in its ubiquitous 16- and 32-ounce cylindrical bottles.

But last week Nalgene (www.nalgene-outdoor.com) announced a BPA-free line that embodies the characteristics that made its polycarbonate bottles so popular: The company's Everyday bottles are made with copolyester, a clear and colorful material that is seemingly a cousin to polycarbonate -- just without the BPA.

The copolyester bottles -- which come in three styles, starting at $8.25 -- are strong and leak-proof. Drop one from head height onto rocks and it will most likely survive.

Although Nalgene is getting the attention this week, CamelBak (www.camelbak.com) was actually first in the copolyester game. The company announced its Better Bottle line -- also polycarbonate-like vessels that do not contain BPA -- a couple of months ago.

Starting at $8, the CamelBak Better Bottle comes in three iterations, including half-liter, three-quarter-liter and 1-liter sizes. Like Nalgene, Camelbak markets its water bottles to outdoors users as well as the general water-toting public. Both companies offer the copolyester bottles in translucent colors.