May 11, 2005

Put down that Nalgene! A recent study[pdf] suggests that a chemical commonly used in polycarbonate plastic containers may raise the risk of prostate cancer in humans. California is considering banning its use in baby bottles, and the plastic industry (which maintains that it is safe) has set up a website to educate the public about Bisphenol-A. Is this a real concern, or just a bogus chemical scare?
posted by pants 19 years ago
  • Wow, thanks for posting this, pants. My hubby is going on a hike this summer, and he just bought a new Nalgene bottle in preparation. It *may* just be a scare, but prostate cancer is nothing I want him to even get near; that new bottle isn't going anywhere but the trash! (or maybe to the back of the closet till more data comes to light.)
  • Just found this quote in another article: “Every single study of bisphenol A conducted with industry funds finds the softener to be safe, while nearly every study conducted without industry funds finds bisphenol A to cause problems, sometimes severe ones, Vom Saal said, comparing the situation to research on tobacco.”
  • "Bisphenol A is typically in the clear, hard plastic," vom Saal said, "not the softer, non-clear containers." Nalgene containers come in a variety of plastics. Stick to the translucent ones marked "HDPE" on the bottom.
  • Oh, for fuck's sake. A more obvious "LOOK OVER THERE!!" I have never seen. What are we supposed to ignore in the current global media cycle this time?
  • from the seattle post-intelligencer a few days back, email me if you want to see the whole article -- or it might be on google? Dr. Patricia Hunt, a geneticist working with laboratory mice, noticed a spike in chromosomal abnormalities after a lab worker cleaned a set of polycarbonate mouse cages with a harsh detergent, leaching a chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA) into the animals' environment. Hunt's findings, which were published in the journal Current Biology, were used by Sierra magazine and other media to perpetuate - somewhat haphazardly - a scare that polycarbonate or Lexan water bottles potentially could leach similar nasty chemicals. It's been a full two years since Hunt's findings were reported, and despite a lot of conversation and serious concern about BPA infiltrating bottled drinking water, there is still no definitive say on potential health effects in humans.
  • Hmmm... perhaps I have overreacted. The sweet sweet pleasure of bisphenol A has blurred my logic circuits. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!
  • OH MY GOD!!! SIDEDISH, BRING ME MY BISPHENOL PLEASURE PODS AT ONCE!!!!11! /purrs with evil chemical offwash pleasure
  • Some intersting info can also be found here. I remember when many bottled water vendors made the switch from the "cloudy" plastic to the shimmering clear stuff which doesn't allow any "plastic" taste. It seemed too good to be true, alas... Thanks for posting pants! On preview: Chyren, I think you got confused with this
  • The freak-out at the US Capitol this morning, and yesterday's weird hand grenade episode in Georgia, Chy. had links, but they wouldn't process correctly, so I left them out. Both stories top at news.google.com
  • Curious LaForge: If I do something really useful with my new plastic, will that outweigh the kinky evil twisted shit I did while I was developing it? Yours, Evil Masked Chemical Genius Same City as Batman
  • If you can't kill George W. Bush with a single fuckin' handgrenade at close quarters, you don't deserve to play counterstrike ever again. N00b.
  • *spit take* How do i know if it's a Nalgalene bottle?
  • You should feel a tingling in your prostate.
  • You know, I hear that cell phones cause brain cancer. Oh, and nutrasweet will kill you. Products containing BPA are everywhere, as indicated in that sfgate article. If you wanted to stop your exposure to it, you'd have to stop eating or drinking just about anything in a can. If you ever had your teeth sealed against cavities, you probably have it in your mouth. It definitely deserves further study, but let's not overreact.
  • AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
  • How do i know if it's a Nalgalene bottle? If you paid way too much for it, as I understand. /buys cheap ones and chucks them every so often
  • George Carlin famously said something about getting a goddamn drink before you leave the house.
  • Is this a real concern, or just a bogus chemical scare? So is this a curious george post or something?
  • MonkeyFilter: A more obvious "LOOK OVER THERE!!" I have never seen MonkeyFilter: BRING ME MY BISPHENOL PLEASURE PODS AT ONCE MonkeyFilter: You should feel a tingling in your prostate. and my NUMBER ONE favorite: MonkeyFilter: If you can't kill George W. Bush with a single fuckin' handgrenade at close quarters, you don't deserve to play counterstrike ever again. YES! Chyren, I kiss you.
  • Yep, gonna have to ditch all the Dr. Brown's baby bottles, I guess. They say they're going to have a non-BPA version available next month.
  • Oy. We checked our bottle liners this morning.
  • I'm glad that chyren guy doesn't post here anymore, he sounds like a drubk.
  • chyren... wasn't he daisy_may's ex-boyfriend?
  • I don't think so. I think he's the guy going around salvaging used baby bottles for some disgusting purpose. Maybe a pee collection.
  • I thought he was the guy that bottomed for a horse.
  • Oh, yeah. That was hot.
  • Hot, indeed! This was a good thread (even in its limited number of comments). Did anyone else happen to catch that if you eat canned veggies, you're gonna DIE! I'm sure we all have traces of Bisphenol A in our hair by now.
  • Oh, now THAT'S a bonus. *prepares to never eat store bought strawberries* Guess I better make sure the strawberries are fenced off well so the chickens don't get in them--and pick up some more at the greenhouse.
  • A librarian I worked with in 2000 told me never to microwave food in plastic containers, and as she was a reasonable person I took her word for it. She reached this conclusion after her mother had a form of cancer and she learned what plastics can do to a person. I don't know that she determined BPA had a thing to do with her mother's cancer. Around the same time, I bought a house. The house was old, but the carpet was new. When I moved in, I started feeling sick. I don't know that the chemicals involved with the carpet made me sick, but after I did some research (not as easy in 2000 as now) I ripped it out, and breathed easier.