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bpa/hdpe debate (nalgene content)

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
supposedly bpa leaches out (causing adverse health effects over time) of the lexan style nalgene bottles. I got like ten of the things. anybody researched this?
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
The lawsuits have started already. I've been debating trading mine in for a metal one but i haven't researched the safeety of those either.
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
I sent an inquiry about this to nalgene and I got a cookie cutter response. I wanted to see if they'd take all the bottles I got in on trade for hdpe ones. They pleasantly denied saying there's no health risk with the bpa bottles I have even though they are immediately stopping production of them.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Initial reports are that it's a very low risk to healthy adults, moderate risk to the very young and if you're very old, so what.
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
I sent an inquiry about this to nalgene and I got a cookie cutter response. I wanted to see if they'd take all the bottles I got in on trade for hdpe ones. They pleasantly denied saying there's no health risk with the bpa bottles I have even though they are immediately stopping production of them.
You know, I said it would be smart of them to accept BPA bottles as a deposit at least to new BPA free bottles. Sucks that they don't do something like that. I can't really see buying another Nalgene brand now that I have to replace the ones that I have.
 

Hunter

Monkey
Sep 14, 2006
793
0
The Right coast
When my wife was pregnant we did a lot of research into this. We both drink a ton of water and have a water bottle with us pretty regularly. Lots of mixed results, but in the end we decided to get stainless steel bottles (http://www.kleankanteen.com/) for our use. We also made sure to look for those issues/chemicals with the baby bottles we use - ended up using a lot of glass bottles for storage, and BPA free bottles for feeding when our little one wasn't taking it straight from the tap (http://www.newbornfree.com/).

Maybe a little turbo on this, but better safe than sorry I guess.
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
When my wife was pregnant we did a lot of research into this. We both drink a ton of water and have a water bottle with us pretty regularly. Lots of mixed results, but in the end we decided to get stainless steel bottles (http://www.kleankanteen.com/) for our use. We also made sure to look for those issues/chemicals with the baby bottles we use - ended up using a lot of glass bottles for storage, and BPA free bottles for feeding when our little one wasn't taking it straight from the tap (http://www.newbornfree.com/).

Maybe a little turbo on this, but better safe than sorry I guess.
That was helpful.
 

MMike

A fowl peckerwood.
Sep 5, 2001
18,207
105
just sittin' here drinkin' scotch
Like I said the other day, this has been raging for years. (link from Apr 2002) http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Plasticizers/BPA-Baby-Bottle2apr02.htm

Avent baby bottles are bad.....I'm speculating, but It's wore when you heat the bottle. So a baby bottle with heated milk/formula is way worse that cold water. (And presumably it's a larger human that's drinking the cold water).

But for a newborn, it's bad news...
 

Wingnut

Turbo Monkey
Nov 12, 2003
1,664
179
Sorry, I'm Canadian ..sorry...
It's official. Everything is bad for your health, even in moderation.


We moved to Playtex bottles with the drop in liners. Less good for the environement, which is why we used the Playtex Advanced in the first place. We can't seem to find glass ones anywhere. We can't win.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
I only use my nalgene bottles when I am backpacking so I am not worried about it. Actually my new pack has a hydration pocket so the only nalgene I'll carry from here on out will be the one holding bourbon.
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,289
MTB New England
I wonder if there is any health risks to my awesome habit of drinking out of the same 1 liter Aquafina bottle everyday for two months.:homer:
:stupid:

Although I grab a fresh bottle every six weeks or so.

And I can't imagine those Nalgene bottles are any worse than the two hot dogs I just ate.
 

BMXman

I wish I was Canadian
Sep 8, 2001
13,827
0
Victoria, BC
It's official. Everything is bad for your health, even in moderation.


We moved to Playtex bottles with the drop in liners. Less good for the environement, which is why we used the Playtex Advanced in the first place. We can't seem to find glass ones anywhere. We can't win.
is breastfeeding not an option??
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
small update, we've eliminated the nalgenes from our cupboards. Here's the email I got from nalgene regarding possibly taking all the polycarb bottles I got in for trade against hdpe bottles:

"Thank you for taking the time to write to us with your questions regarding BPA. We have listened to our customers' concerns and are transitioning our polycarbonate line into the BPA free Everyday(tm) Nalgene(tm) line made from Tritan(tm) co-polyester. We do not intend to recall any of our products and will not issue a credit or refund money for products, as the science indicates the Nalgene products containing BPA are safe for their intended use. Please visit our website at: <http://www.nalgene-outdoor.com/> for further information."

so....they are saying the bottles are safe but they are not making them anymore...hmmmmm

this is what we are using now (rubbermaid mixer mate series), works great
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
If the only side effect of BPA consumption is more boobs then this whole thing becomes a non-issue to me.

Mr. Tiles, what's the rubbermaid container made out of?
 

skinny mike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2005
6,415
0
so....they are saying the bottles are safe but they are not making them anymore...hmmmmm
it's smart if you ask me. with this whole scare, the general public is going to avoid them from now on. why keep producing a product that is just going to be a money-losing endeavor?

i'll eventually transition over to the new kind of plastic, but i'm not too worried about growing a pair of titties so i'm in no rush.
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
Our main concern was the effects of bpa and our son considering my wife drank out of a nalgene every day she was pregnant with him (too late for that I guess) and my son also has a nalgene sippy that he's recently outgrown. bpa is shown in some research to cause developmental issues.

Good customer service in this situation, IMO, would be to deal with people on a case-by-case basis instead of doing a total recall. They could take the ten bottles I have in trade against the no-risk hdpe bottles they make - I'd even pay a price difference, say their cost. Since they did nothing, they lost me and my family forever as customers.

Laura, the rubbermaid bottles are soft plastic, I'm assuming hdpe. http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74068&PRODID=74671
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
If the only side effect of BPA consumption is more boobs then this whole thing becomes a non-issue to me.

Mr. Tiles, what's the rubbermaid container made out of?
Estrogen mimics are linked to infertility and cancer in men and women. Another well known artificial estrogen mimic is DDT. Natural estrogen mimics are found in tea tree oil, lavender oil, wheat germ, soy products, and other foods.

Scientific American said:
BPA was linked to increased breast and prostate cancer occurrences, altered menstrual cycles and diabetes in lab mice that were still developing.
 

skinny mike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2005
6,415
0
Our main concern was the effects of bpa and our son considering my wife drank out of a nalgene every day she was pregnant with him (too late for that I guess) and my son also has a nalgene sippy that he's recently outgrown. bpa is shown in some research to cause developmental issues.

Good customer service in this situation, IMO, would be to deal with people on a case-by-case basis instead of doing a total recall. They could take the ten bottles I have in trade against the no-risk hdpe bottles they make - I'd even pay a price difference, say their cost. Since they did nothing, they lost me and my family forever as customers.

Laura, the rubbermaid bottles are soft plastic, I'm assuming hdpe. http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=74068&PRODID=74671
it doesn't make sense to take back all of the bottles they sold. the bpa is only released when the plastic is exposed to high temperatures for longer periods of time iirc. under normal conditions, the bottles pose no real danger to consumers.
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
it doesn't make sense to take back all of the bottles they sold. the bpa is only released when the plastic is exposed to high temperatures for longer periods of time iirc. under normal conditions, the bottles pose no real danger to consumers.
Most people probably wash their bottles with warm water or worse - put them in the dishwater. There are concerns with long term low level exposure, but no long term studies. Better to play it safe. There could be synergistic effects in combination with other environmental and genetic risk factors.
 

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,519
7,066
Colorado
So is it the clear Nalgene bottles, or the old school opaqe ones that are the problem?
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
I've read high temps and freezing temps (i.e. a bottle full of ice and a little water so it stays cold all day) cause leeching. Regardless, we don't give nalgene our patronage so it's water under the bridge at this point.
 

Mr Tiles

I'm a beer snob
Nov 10, 2003
3,469
0
L-town ya'll
So is it the clear Nalgene bottles, or the old school opaqe ones that are the problem?
we have a couple white nalgenes that are like a softer plastic than the clear or colored lexan/bpa bottles. These white ones are made out of hdpe and are totally safe from what I've read...
 

DH Diva

Wonderwoman
Jun 12, 2002
1,808
1
I love all the sites claiming LDPE is totally safe though. We don't use any LDPE in our aquaculture facility because of how badly it fails toxicity tests with aquatic organisms like fish.

You wouldn't believe some of the awesomely horrible deformities that this stuff causes to embryonic development in fish.

Wether it be the LDPE itself or the residuals from production, it does some bad news stuff.

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that everything is toxic.