Plastics and water don’t mix

The recent controversy over the likes of Nalgene bottles tends to gloss over the fact that it’s not the Nalgene bottles per se that we should be worried about, but any number 7 plastic product. Seems like they contain, and can leach, bisphenol A, an endocrine-disrupting chemical. An article in the NYTimes goes into more detail about Nalgenes and regular bottled water.

While some people may feel that this whole matter is overblown, the fact is that plastics (and most things we come into contact with on a daily basis) are really recent inventions and there is no human record about its effects on us. We will have to wait and see what genetic impact they have, if any.

I’m reminded of a Wall Street Journal article I read a few years ago titled Common Industrial Chemicals In Tiny Doses Raise Health Issue. Most of the time, toxicology is concerned about how much it takes to hurt us, that is, what is the maximum dangerous amount. However, there is little, if any, research into how little it takes to hurt us.

As the article points out:

Using advanced lab techniques, scientists have found that with some chemicals, traces as minute as mere parts per trillion have biological effects. That’s one-millionth of the smallest traces even measurable three decades ago, when many of today’s environmental laws were written. With some of these chemicals, such trace levels exist in the blood and urine of the general population.

Clearly, we are just beginning to understand the effects of the modern lifestyle on our species.

For now, I’ve switched to using a SIGG.