The Unseen Hazard of Plastics

Recently, my dad saw an article in one of his science magazines on plastic products. I haven't had the chance to find the magazine and read it, but he told me that basically, scientists are finding that the chemicals that plastic products are made of are leeching into foods, etc.  The particles that leech into the product attach themselves to your horomone receptors and alter your horomone levels. The article said that after your body filters it out, everything goes back to normal, but they're not sure how it affects humans after long periods of low exposure.

Also, they've found that heating the plastic, such as cooking food in tupperware, the microwaveable dinner trays, and warming milk in baby bottles increases the levels of plastics leeching into the food product. This is extremely hazardous to infants and even fetuses (mom ingests these chemicals while pregnant) while they are still developing, as it can alter their horomones for LIFE.

I'm just curious if any one else has heard about this developing "threat"...?

I think you are talking about Bisphenol-A or BPA.  It's in a lot of plastic like water bottles and baby bottles, and it messes with the endocrine system, and has shown some nasty effects in animal tests.  It has been found in 95% of adult's urine samples!

Plastic that has the recycle symbol and number is a way to see if said container may contain BPA.  "3" and "7" are types that might have BPA; 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 do not have BPA.  Unfortunatly, the plastic is used in other containers too.

Here's the wikipedia article 

yes! thats it! I'm afraid to use my nalgene bottles... they're number 7's...  thats all I use now, cause I was tired and disgusted with using so many plastic poland spring bottles.

Yeah when i was living with my nana she would get so upset if I microwaved something in plastic. I don't now myself just in case what they are saying is right.

It is just a hazard if its heated? Or is storing product in number 3's and 7's dangerous too?

heating food or beverage in the containers or adding hot items to them accelerate the rate at which the BPA will leech into the food, but it leeches even when cool from what I have read. I just googled it and it appears Nalgene may not be safe. I'd copy a link but I'm posting from the iPhone and I have no copy and paste ability. Just google "is nalgene safe" for the info.

By the way, the recycling numbers indicate the type of plastic. 1 is PET, 2 is HDPE, etc. 7 is for "other" so just because it says 7 doesn't mean it will have BPA.

I'm looking for a stainless steel bottle anyway just in case.

My mom was saying that they have stopped selling a lot of brands of baby bottles in Canada due to this so I emailed the company I use and this was their reply:

Client Privileged Communication

Thank you for contacting us with your questions about polycarbonate plastic
and the Philips AVENT feeding bottle.
Philips AVENT is aware of media reports focusing on Bisphenol A (BPA) and
polycarbonate. We would like to help our customers better understand why
Philips AVENT, as well as other companies, use these materials.

Polycarbonates are used in thousands of consumer products such as reusable
food containers, lifesaving medical devices and sport safety equipment.
Manufacturers of such products, including baby bottles, rely upon
polycarbonates because they prevent cracking, shattering and other hazards
that can lead to injuries. The key concern for parents is whether leaching
from polycarbonate bottles causes harm.

The effects of leached BPA have been studied extensively by regulatory
agencies, including the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Various governing bodies have found as follows:
" In January 2008, the FDA reconfirmed its long standing view regarding the
safety of polycarbonate for food contact, including baby feeding bottles.
The FDA has indicated that it actively reviews the safety of BPA and
recently completed a review of available data obtained from animal studies,
and migration studies. Based on the results of the migration studies
conducted by FDA chemists, the FDA determined that the "dietary exposure to
BPA is orders of magnitude below the levels known to cause toxic effects in
animals."
" International regulatory agencies responsible for consumer protection,
including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the UK Food Standards
Agency, the German Federal Institute of Risk Assessment, and the Japanese
Ministry of Health have all studied the use of BPA and concluded that it
can be used in the manufacture of baby bottles.

Philips AVENT is committed to meeting or exceeding the standards set by the
FDA and all other acknowledged authorities around the world. All plastics
used in Philips AVENT products are FDA-approved and recognized as "safe for
food contact application." Philips AVENT Bottles are also independently
tested in accordance with and comply with the latest European Standard for
Drinking Equipment for Children-EN14350: 2004 which looks specifically at
the acceptable daily intake of BPA for children. By looking to these
acknowledged authorities, Philips AVENT will continue to deliver the best
products to customers.

Our bottles have been and will continue to be used by millions of healthy
babies in over 70 countries worldwide.

Thank you,

Philips AVENT
Consumer Service Team

I've read studies and research online that these BPA's are linked to breast cancer in women, and they think that the use of plastics is why we have seen such a change in early onset of puberty which has many related problems.  It is a fact that in the late 1800 - early 1900's the onset of puberty was between 15 and 16 years old.  It has been recently calculated that the onset of puberty is now between the ages of 9-10 years old.  That is quite a difference.  There could definitely be other factors as with anything but I have been looking for either glass or stainless steel.  I have had no luck so far.  I did see that eastern mountain sports have plastic bottles which label when they don't have bpa.  So I'm going to move to that.  Also just got an email that warned about women drinking out of plastic bottles that have been left in the car.  Because the sun heats them up and cause the leaching.  I have been using ceramic to heat anything in the microwave for years because of the possiblity of leeching but I never thought of that.  We always have bottled water in the car and I drink from them all the time! 

 http://www.reusablebags.com/store/stainless-s teel-klean-kanteen-c-19_25_3

I am not very computor savy.  I hope that you can find the site ok.  I am planning on  ordering one of their bottles.

SO. I've read a little more on the plastic dilemma, and its not as scary as I first thought, however, I've still gone out and bought glassware and a stainless steel water bottle at Bed Bath & Beyond to replace my nalgene bottle ...

I found out when my mom came home from work one day (she works at Wal-Mart, teehee) and told me that a bunch of plastic containers that we HAVE AROUND THE HOUSE had been recalled at work. Did some reading online, found out why, threw out the containers.

I've been using these containers for a very long time, have used them to heat-up left-overs, etc. I wonder if these chemicals could have seriously damaged my system through long-term usage..

There was a very interesting article on PBS about this on Bill Moyer's journal last week. I listened to the audio podcast of it, and it is amazing the lengths that the BPA manufacturers have gone to to avoid having this come to public attention. I think you can watch it or at least get the audio of it on the show's website.

That being said, I think it does release in higher quantities if heated or if put in contact with oily or acidic products. I still use my nalgene, but just for cool water and only because I can't bring myself to throw it away.