In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:
Nice - use a steri-pen to protect yourself - but with a Nalgene Bottle ?
Warning: Do You Have Nalgene or Other Hard Plastic Drinking Bottles?
If you have any hard plastic bottles from Nalgene, specifically the ‘Outdoor’ series, I may recommend replacing them. You may also want to check out if any other hard plastic drinking bottles you have contain BPA (bisphenol A).
Walmart and other retailers have started pulling Nalgene brand plastic drinking bottles along with other product bottles that contain BPA (bisphenol A) off the shelves this past week. Nalgene is discontinuing it’s popular Outdoor line of bottles that contain BPA and have introduced a new line of BPA free bottles called ‘Everyday’.
This action coincidently follows the government’s National Toxicology Program report that cites potential health risks from BPA. BPA mimics estrogen and in experiments on rats, has linked the chemical to changes in behavior and the brain, early puberty and possibly precancerous changes in the prostate and breast.
BPA is also found in DVDs, CDs and hundreds of other common plastic items.
Canadian officials reported that they are now in talks to potentially ban the chemical completely in the country.
Talk about this potential health risk has been around for almost two years, but companies and governments didn’t take action. It’s too bad that a company like Nalgene has to be pressured by consumers in order to remove a product with potential health risks. In a statement, the company still claims they feel BPA in their bottles doesn’t pose a health risk and are only recalling and discontinuing the line because of consumer concern.