Nalgene and BPA

Doesn't look all that dangerous, does it? (Don't worry, I'm not going to be giving a chemistry lecture.) The above chemical is called Bisphenol A, or more commonly BPA. Normally I would find a chemical structure to be about as fascinating as a pencil box, but this one happens to be capable of "hormone-linked trends in human health such as...increases in neurodevelopmental diseases such as ADHD and autism, increased child obesity, decreased sperm count, and more breast and prostate cancers."( Web MD )

Even that wouldn't normally be enough to pique my interest, because let's face it, there are a lot of chemicals out there that have the potential to give me cancer and scar my children's mental development down the road. We live in a modern society after all, and I'm sure that I have been briefly exposed to things far worse at one point or another in my life. However, this nasty little guy just happens to be contained in the plastic that makes these:

Looking at this picture, you can figure out a couple of things about me. One, I am a nerd with NASA logos on my water bottles and two, I use my nalgenes a lot. By a lot I mean I-don't-think-I-have-gone-more-than-two-days-in-the-past-eight-months-without-using-one-of-those-two-bottles. You can see why I would be slightly concerned by this news...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hypochondriac by any stretch of the imagination. If a cookie falls on the floor and that floor is even remotely clean I'll pick it up and eat it, but I'm not really into taking risks with man-made chemicals. (Heck, I use deodorant instead of anti-persperant because I don't want the aluminum in anti-persperants to increase my odds of getting male breast cancer.)

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D - CT) recently requested that the FDA begin an investigation of products that contain the chemical in order to determine what kinds of risks consumers might be exposed to while using one of those products. Nalgene has claimed that their products do not leech any BPA unless subjected to extreme temperatures outside of recommended levels. The jury is still out, but until they get back with a verdict I think I'm going to think about getting a couple of new water bottles.

Right after I get a drink of water. Where is that thing anyway?