How Safe Is Your BPA-Free Water Bottle?

Plastics have come under fire in recent years, with long-term health effects becoming a growing concern. BPA, Bisphenol A, an ingredient used to make plastic more pliable, has received much of the attention. It's pretty easy to find BPA free plastic these days as manufacturers realized quickly that consumers wanted to protect their health. Reports of BPA leaching into drinks and causing endocrine damage have created a demand for safer alternatives — but, despite products being labeled BPA-free, do any safe plastics actually exist?

Plastics in Food Packaging and Public Safety

Plastics are made out of polymers, the most popular five being polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene and PVC, polyvinyl chloride. Science explains that most water bottles use polyethylene terephthalate or high-density polyethylene as their base polymer. But that’s just the beginning. To get the right consistency and durability for a plastic water bottle, manufacturers must add chemicals — a lot of them.

There are over 3300 different chemicals that can go into plastic packaging, with over 900 of them commonly going into plastics for use with food and drinks. Of those, 63 are considered hazardous to human health. Seven are known to accumulate in human tissues, and 15 are known as endocrine disruptors.

BPA in Food Packaging

One of those known endocrine disruptors is bisphenol A (BPA), which was banned for use in US baby bottles and infant formula packaging starting in 2012. Many companies now advertise their bottles as BPA-free, using this as a selling point that makes people feel safer. What they don’t tell consumers, though, is that the bottles likely contain bisphenol S (BPS) or bisphenol B (BPB) in place of BPA, and these substitutes may not be much better.

BPA vs. BPS, BPB, and Other Chemical Additives in Our Food Packaging

Researchers have taken a critical look at BPS and similar substitutes, and the news is anything but promising. An article published last year in the National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology determined that BPS had toxic effects that were similar to those caused by BPA. According to the report, BPS can negatively affect gut motility, metabolism, immune function and cognitive function.

Another, more recent study on mice found BPS could transfer across the placenta to fetuses, potentially affecting brain development. Researchers discovered that numerous neurotransmitters in the placental tissue were out of balance, and they observed an unnatural decrease in estradiol and other hormones. Both could mean lasting effects in developing young.

A structurally similar compound, bisphenol B (BPB) has also proven to disrupt the endocrine system, and it’s present in the blood of 63% of endometriosis patients. Bisphenol F (BPF), which has also shown the ability to cross the placental barrier, may even be to blame for some cases of childhood diabetes.

Water Bottles, Food Packaging and Plastic

These are but a handful of chemicals that we know for sure can harm us; given there are likely more we don’t yet know about, it’s likely that there’s no such thing as a plastic that’s even remotely safe to use for our food and water packaging.

Plastic might be convenient and durable, but it may not be worth the health risks. Regardless of which chemicals a plastic bottle might not include, it’s still likely to contain at least a few other, equally toxic, compounds. Consider going old-school, using a stainless-steel thermos instead, and ditching plastic bottles for good. It’s better for the environment, too.

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