BPA Chemical Leaches From Hard Plastic Drinking Bottles Into The Body, Study
Toxic Plastic Numbers #3,4,5,6,7 Plastic container Buying GuideNew research from the US suggests that people who drink from bottles made of polycarbonate plastic, such as that used to make hard-plastic drinking bottles and baby bottles, have a considerably higher level of the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their bodies compared to when they do not.
The finding confirms concerns expressed by consumer groups and public health experts, that polycarbonate plastic bottles are an important source of the BPA that finds its way into the human body. BPA has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals, and has been linked to cardivascular disease and diabetes in humans, among other things. Drinking cold liquids from polycarbonate bottles for just one week increased urinary BPA levels by more than two-thirds."
6 manufacturers in the US said they would stop selling hard plastic baby bottles
made with BPA. Canada banned the use of BPA in polycarbonate baby bottles last year. "If you heat those bottles, as is the case with baby bottles, we would
expect the levels to be considerably higher," she added, explaining
that is worrying because "infants may be particularly susceptible to
BPA's endocrine-disrupting potential".
BPA is also found in dentistry composites and sealants and in the lining of aluminum food and beverage cans.
If a hard plastic bottle carries the recycling symbol showing the
number 7, then it is most likely made of polycarbonate, since 7 is the
category for "all other plastics", which includes polycarbonate
(according to the
SPI resin identification coding system).
"Use of Polycarbonate Bottles and Urinary Bisphenol A Concentrations."
Jenny L. Carwile, Henry T. Luu, Laura S. Bassett, Daniel A. Driscoll,
Caterina Yuan, Jennifer Y. Chang, Xiaoyun Ye, Antonia M. Calafat, Karin
B. Michels.
Environmental Health
Perspectives, online May 12, 2009.
doi:10.1289/ehp.0900604