ahhhhhhh! so it is true. sad day.

It's not just cancer causing, it's also known as a gender bending chemical and can cause increased amounts of estrogen production in males.

Canada is moving to ban it's use in baby bottles immediately and will likely ban it outright eventually.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/04/18/bisphenol-a.html?ref=rss

Mountain Equipment Coop stopped selling the hard plastic Nalgene bottles months ago.

Wired has a small post on this as well: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/its-time-to-pan.html

I guess that's why I tend to like pink after a backpacking trip....

Okay, I know I don't have jokes....

What wilderness have you been lost in for the last couple of years? The green media has been talking about the apparent negative endocrine effects of Bisphenol-A, as found in Lexan Polycarbonate, for at least 2 years.

However, Nalgene still makes lots of bottles that aren't made of Lexan Polycarbonate. I've been using their classic, milky-white, High-Density PolyEthylene (HDPE, #2) bottles for almost 20 years, and have never seen any discussion in the science press about their dangers.

Note, also, that many metal bottles have a plastic lining to prevent corrosion. Many of those plastic linings could contain, you guessed it, phthalates or Bisphenol-A.

Blaming Nalgene for harm from Lexan bottles is sort of like blaming Chevrolet for traffic accidents. Other companies make Lexan bottles, and other makes of cars get in traffic accidents.

Gotta get cancer somehow...

I think the reason why some people are just now hearing about it is because Nalgene, the industry leader in this type of product, is actually making the change away from Lexan.

Thank goodness for Sigg bottles! I will miss the use of my nalgenes though....

You know, I dont mean to sound un-caring, but people are a little too concerned about germs today. I have used nalgenes for about 4 years now, all of them, and honestly, the amount of harmfull stuff in them is so small that it wont really harm you. Plus, in my un-doctoral mind, I would think that being exposed to small amounts could build up an immunity. Maybe.

I guess its obvious that i am not concerned to much by this recent "discovery."

we should all be sure to look into this carefully and more importantly, not worry about it.

thanks.

~John

It's frustrating when people just pass things off like "oh too bad this company sold cancer-causing commodities to me for years. maybe i'll try their #2 bottle instead". It's called consumer protection - using all these synthesized chemicals in production is unnatural and should be more thoroughly tested BEFORE they sell hazardous baby bottles, etc. The company should be held responsible. We have become way too docile about our own health because of all the cancer-this cancer-that news thrown around these day. It's not just about OUR health either; the environment is impacted too and cannot speak for itself.

And unfortunately, you cannot build up your resistance ot cancer. You just get it.

I was just wondering how you would know which bottles may contain BPA because I have a couple Nalgene bottles and I have looked everywhere on them for the "ingredients" but I cannot find them!! I was also wondering if anyone knows if the times a Nalgene bottle (I know...CERTAIN ones and other companies' too!) is refilled or used contributes to the rising in cancer. I would just really like as much information possible about this so that we can al stay healthy! Thanks!!

Look, i hate to break it to all of you. Most seem to be completely oblivious to the fact that the media always tries to scare you in some way. BPA is an estradiol receptor agonist, which means it is capable of activating the respective signaling pathways; even at that, its affinity for the receptor is approximately 1:2000 that of estradiols, which makes its effects as an estrogenic substance completely negligible. Did anyone look and see how the primary study obtained elevated levels of BPA from fluid in the nalgene? They dry-baked the nalgene in an oven at 300 degrees f, rigorously scraped the inside of the bottle. They called this treatment slightly harsh, but not unrealistic concerning what a nalgene may go through. BPA has been extracted from other polycarbonates through autoclaving as well. Have you baked and autoclaved your nalgene lately?
Lets assume you have. Big deal, eat some canned corn and you'll get more of what you're so scared of.
Bottom line, dont EVER listen to the media. Do your own research with peer reviewed material, and realize that the biggest lies in the media begin with "research/researchers has/have shown that..."

Example: here is a true statement i am going to throw at you. "Research has shown that oxygen may be linked to cancer."
are you going to demand a different external terminal electron acceptor?? just stop breathing and die because that statement IS actually true??

Everyone freaking out about everything the media tells them are going to end up dying from the stress of worrying about cancer they will never have.

Three kinds of lies exist in this world:
Lies, Damn lies, and statistics.

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