Foxyangel0425
09-09-2003, 06:26 PM
Reusing Water Bottles
Posted 4 Aug 2003 09:16 by Log
This is the third entry in my ongoing periodic series on health and safety. Part 1 was about fish-derived beer additives, and part 2 was about hurricane dangers in New York City.
At work, I have a water bottle that I've been refilling and washing repeatedly for several months. At first it was Poland Spring brand, but at some point it was replaced with a Pepsi-made and Troy-derived Desani bottle. I learned recently, however, that drinking out of this bottle was endangering my health.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE #1) is one of the most common plastics in the world. It's used in soda and water bottles, salad dressing bottles, peanut butter containers, film, and oven trays. About 1.72 million tons of PETE is created every year (12.6 pounds per American), and about 30% of that is recycled. The recycling of PETE is actually a great success story. There is recycled PETE in half of all new polyester carpet, as well as in all fleece and several other fabrics.
But PETE bottles begin to break down after a couple of uses, especially when washed with hot water.
"One of the toxins that frequently appeared in water samples from the reused bottles was DEHA, a carcinogen regulated in drinking water because it has been linked to weight loss, liver problems, or possible reproductive difficulties. It is also suspected that DEHA can cause cancer in humans." (Risks in Reusing Water Bottles, Medline Plus, 26 Jan 2003)
So I have replaced that bottle with a Nalgene bottle made from high impact-resistant polycarbonate that was intended to be reused. As long as I don't need to contain anything with more than 15% alcohol by volume, I should be fine.
Posted 4 Aug 2003 09:16 by Log
This is the third entry in my ongoing periodic series on health and safety. Part 1 was about fish-derived beer additives, and part 2 was about hurricane dangers in New York City.
At work, I have a water bottle that I've been refilling and washing repeatedly for several months. At first it was Poland Spring brand, but at some point it was replaced with a Pepsi-made and Troy-derived Desani bottle. I learned recently, however, that drinking out of this bottle was endangering my health.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PETE #1) is one of the most common plastics in the world. It's used in soda and water bottles, salad dressing bottles, peanut butter containers, film, and oven trays. About 1.72 million tons of PETE is created every year (12.6 pounds per American), and about 30% of that is recycled. The recycling of PETE is actually a great success story. There is recycled PETE in half of all new polyester carpet, as well as in all fleece and several other fabrics.
But PETE bottles begin to break down after a couple of uses, especially when washed with hot water.
"One of the toxins that frequently appeared in water samples from the reused bottles was DEHA, a carcinogen regulated in drinking water because it has been linked to weight loss, liver problems, or possible reproductive difficulties. It is also suspected that DEHA can cause cancer in humans." (Risks in Reusing Water Bottles, Medline Plus, 26 Jan 2003)
So I have replaced that bottle with a Nalgene bottle made from high impact-resistant polycarbonate that was intended to be reused. As long as I don't need to contain anything with more than 15% alcohol by volume, I should be fine.