Bottled water is here to stay. Visit any school and you will find vending machines that exclusively sell bottled water. A liter of water costs more than a liter of gasoline. It is a multi billion-dollar industry.
A substantial amount of media attention has been given to the environmental impact of plastic water bottles. However, recently there has been renewed concern over the actual health impact of plastic bottles and containers.
The concern is over a chemical called bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches from the plastic even at room temperature and has been linked to chromosome damage and hormone disruption. This chemical is found primarily in #7 plastic bottles
Another chemical: DEHA, a known carcinogen found in #1 plastic bottles, can be dangerous if these bottles are used more than once. Additionally, if you are using a water bottle that has been refilled and not properly washed, it is likely to contain potentially harmful bacteria from saliva, food particles, and fecal material from unwashed hands and many people have reported getting diarrhea from their reused plastic water bottles.
The key to avoiding exposure to these chemicals is to correctly identify which type of bottle you are drinking from. Anything made of plastic will have a small triangular shaped, recycle logo with a number inside. Safer plastics include #2, #4 and #1 (if only used once). Unsafe plastics include #5, #6, #7. If you have these sitting around the home, thrown them away!
However, all plastics will eventually leach chemicals into food and beverages. The best way to avoid these chemicals completely is to replace all plastic containers with safer alternatives like glass, Pyrex and stainless steel. These are safer storage options that won’t leach chemicals into your child’s food.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I read with interest the above article in our local The Times. Plastics are certainly a concern as is the proliferation of single-use plastic water bottle.
Your article refers to No 1 plastic (that used for water-bottles) being dangerous if used more than once. I see in my kitchen that there are many other food items that come in No. 1 plastic – peanut butter for one, a jar of which may remain partly used for weeks or months, and I would like to look at this issue further.
Please could you send me a copy of the research paper in which the No. 1 plastics, or give me the citation for whichever peer-reviewed publication it appeared in.
Thanks
Thank you for your comment! Here’s some more info along with all the peer-reviewed research once could ever want to read: http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refid=77083.
Of 115 published animal studies, 81 percent found significant effects from even low-level exposure to BPA. The point is: ALL plastics will leech BPAs over time and under the right conditions. The plastics I listed were “safer” alternatives but will still leech BPAs. The solution: switch to glass/pyrex/stainless steel storage instead.
I read your article with great interest and this prompted me to look for more information on this topic on the internet. The information I found differed from yours in terms of No. 5 plastic. It seemed to be presented as a “safer” plastic. Could you give me some references relating specifically to No. 5 plastic? Thanks.
See comments above.