Nicked by Nalgene? Try Stainless Steel

by Ben Carmichael  |  April 16, 2008  |  More By Ben Carmichael

For every age, there is a remedy. And for nearly every remedy, a folly. The Romantic Poets famously had their laudanum, the Victorians their adulterated tea. So bad was the latter that Punch magazine ran a cartoon of a little girl at a grocery counter saying, "If you please, Sir, Mother says, will you let her have a quarter of a pound of your best tea to kill the rats with, and an ounce of chocolate as would get rid of the black beadles."

Could the same thing be true for my Nalgene?

Drink water, I've been told, and you live a healthier life. For many of us who have taken this adage to heart, Nalgene has become the brand of choice for our daily water consumption. For me, over the past decade, when my Nalgene hasn't been with me on the hiking trail, it's been here, on my desk, where I fill and refill it multiple times a day.

But a series of news articles, and studies, has raised a series of warning signals about bisphenol-a (BPA), a man-made chemical contained in the kind of polycarbonate plastics used to make Nalgenes, baby bottles, and other consumer products. In 2004, 2.3 billion pounds of BPA was produced in the U.S. alone.

BPA's are what is known as endocrine disruptors. Endocrine tissues, as the sites that produce hormones, are often vital and constitute one of the body's primary communication networks. BPAs have the ability to trick these areas into treating it like estrogen, and disrupt the communication and coordination facilitated by the body's naturally produced hormones. Because of this, they're linked to issues of obesity, infertility, and sexual deformities. Newborn babies and pregnant women are at the greatest risk. (My colleague Laura Wright has written about this in an excellent blog post and article for On Earth.)

The risk isn't limited to these groups, however -- BPA is found in nearly all of us. In 2004, a study by the CDC showed that 92.6% of over 2,000 urine samples showed detectable levels of BPA. Women had higher levels than men, as did people of lower income.

Today, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) released a study of bisphenol A. Gina Solomon, on NRDC's Switchboard, had this summary: "NTP states that there is ‘clear evidence' that at high doses bisphenol A is a developmental toxin, capable of causing death in newborn animals, reduced growth in the womb and in early life, and changes in the age of puberty."

A NY Times article today reports that the Canadian government is ready to label BPA a toxic. Some NGO's, like Environmental Defense, are lobbying for a ban of BPA in food and beverage containers, while at least one store, The Mountain Equipment Co-op, in Vancouver, BC, has removed Nalgenes from their shelves.

The irony is that Nalgene has long been an accessory, if not a symbol, of the environmentally active. And despite the growing body of evidence, Nalgene continues to "firmly believe in the safety of [their] products containing BPA." Their website has a number of links, many to fact sheets produced by the plastics industry.

And so what alternatives do we have? I've been thinking a lot about this recently. Here's what I've found, though the answer is still uncertain.

There is a general consensus that stainless steel is much better than plastic. Companies like SIGG and Kleen Kanteen offer simple, stylish canisters.

But there are rumors that SIGG's bottles, though stainless steel, are lined with a polycarbonate resin that contains BPAs. These seem to be false. There is some informaiton about a water-based lining. But all of this is unconfirmed. Click here for a letter from the president of SIGG USA.

SIGG does have a number of things going for them: The bottle are 100% recyclable, they participate in 1% For the Planet, and the designs are far more stylish than any of the competitors.

Kleen Kanteen also makes a nice bottle. They are made in China, but the company claims they're made responsibly. And if you're married to plastic, Camelbak offers BPA-free plastic bottles.

At this point, I say go for SIGG or Kleen Kanteen.

Anyone have any suggestions? Or know anything decisive about SIGG and BPAs? Your comments are welcome.

 

Update (4/22/08): The New York Times has a good overview of the BPA issue, as well as a good recommendation. Click here for the story.

How do I lower my exposure?

Switch to frozen or fresh vegetables. Use glass, porcelain and stainless-steel containers, particularly for hot foods and liquids. If you don’t want to use a glass baby bottle, several companies, including the popular brand Born Free, now sell BPA-free baby bottles and sippy cups. For formula-fed babies, you can switch to powdered formula rather than liquid.

Although many plastic products claim to be microwave safe, some scientists warn against putting any plastic in the microwave. “There is such a wide variety now, from disposable containers to actual Tupperware,” says Dr. Anila Jacob, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based advocacy group. “I don’t know of anyone who has done definitive testing of all these different types of plastic containers to see what is leaching into food.”