BPA And Water Bottles: Aluminum Bottles May Release Chemical

BPA and water bottles have never had a cozy relationship. Studies in the past have shown that people could lower their levels of BPA by eating fresh, rather than packaged, foods and by avoiding plastic food containers like plastic water bottles.

Therefore, many have chosen aluminum bottles as a “greener” alternative to avoid trace amounts of BPA – BPA has been linked to birth defects, issues with brain and nervous system function, reproductive abnormalities and even some kinds of cancer.

However, a new study reported in WebMD Health News says that some types of aluminum may be releasing more BPA than the clear polycarbonate plastic bottles they were intended replace.

According to WebMD Health News, sales of one brand of reusable water bottles have tripled in the four years since it was launched in the United States.

Yet the new study published in the journal Chemosphere found that aluminum water bottles aren't a BPA-free option.

The researchers stored ultra-pure water in several different kinds of containers for five days, and ultimately found that some aluminum bottles released up to five times the amount of BPA that was released by plastic bottles.

Scott M. Belcher, PhD, an associate professor of pharmacology and cell biophysics at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio told, WebMD, “It’s been used for marketing purposes. If you pick up an aluminum bottle from your super-cheap discount retailer, you can’t be so sure what’s in it. Especially aluminum, because they do require a lining of some sort.” However, the study did find that bottles which say "BPA-Free" on the packaging, largely lived up to their promises. The study also found uncoated stainless steel bottles to be largely free of BPA. But the term “BPA-free” doesn’t have any regulatory meaning or definition. Therefore, for now, consumers must trust the claims of a company. Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C., told WebMD, “For the consumer, this is a tricky issue, to try to boil this down to some simple, useful tips that people can use to distinguish products.This study is kind of showing that you can’t just look at what’s outside of the container, you need to know some specifics about what’s on the inside.”