Using plastic bottles poses several potential hazards. The primary danger stems from a chemical called Bisphenol A or BPA, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or FDA acknowledges as possibly dangerous. The Sierra Club explains that BPA leaks or "leaches" out of the plastic and into water; when you drink from a hard plastic bottle, you may consume BPA. According to the Sierra Club, manufacturers primarily use BPA in hard plastic bottles made of polycarbonate. Flexible one-use plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate, don't contain BPA, but they do pose a bacterial risk.
Birth Defects
Researchers have found that BPA can cause birth defects, the Sierra Club reports. When pregnant mothers ingest the BPA leached from plastic--for example, by drinking water from plastic bottles--their children could have chromosomal abnormalities. Even after birth, the researchers explained, BPA could harm babies and young children.
For males, adds a study published in "Nature," fetal exposure to BPA could cause genital abnormalities.
Reproductive Issues
The National Resources Defense Council and an expert panel's study in "Reproductive Toxicology" warn that BPA could cause breast and prostate cancer. Although scientists have not yet established a definitive connection, they have concluded that BPA causes precancerous tissue alterations.
Male fertility is another potential victim of BPA exposure because the chemical can lower sperm count, according to the National Resources Defense Council. Fetal exposure, the FDA notes, could harm the prostate gland. According to "Reproductive Toxicology," BPA can also alter the mammary glands and testes of fetuses and infants.
Mental and Behavioral Development
The BPA that leaches from a plastic bottle might harm the brain of a fetus or young child, the FDA notes. As a result, BPA negatively influences the child's behavior. Similarly, "Reproductive Toxicology" cites studies that have connected BPA to neurobehavioral issues, including autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Hormonal Problems
BPA acts like estrogen, and hence it can disrupt the hormones in the human body, explains the National Resources Defense Council. For females, "Nature" concludes, this effect can cause early puberty. It can also change the body's response to insulin, another hormone, possibly causing insulin resistance; consequently, scientists have linked BPA exposure to type 2 diabetes, notes "Reproductive Toxicology."
Other BPA-Related Health Problems
The National Resources Defense Council and "Reproductive Toxicology" note that BPA exposure has been tentatively linked to obesity. "Reproductive Toxicology" also hypothesizes that BPA might harm the adult immune system.
Bacterial Contamination
If you reuse plastic bottles, warns the Sierra Club, you risk bacterial infection. Single-use bottles pose the greatest bacterial danger because most people don't clean them properly before reusing, the Sierra Club notes. If you clean the bottle thoroughly, you eliminate this danger; however, the National Resources Defense Council explains, the one-use bottle's narrow neck impedes a thorough cleaning.
Hard plastic bottles often have wider necks, which allow easier cleaning. If you wash a polycarbonate bottle with anything stronger than mild detergent, however, you increase the risk that BPA will leak into your water from the plastic, warns the Sierra Club.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Bisphenol A (BPA)
- National Resources Defense Council: Chemicals in Plastic Bottles: How to Know What's Safe for Your Family
- Sierra Club: Hazards of Hydration
- "Nature"; Environmental toxins: Exposure to Bisphenol A Advances Puberty; Howdeshell et al.; 1999
- "Reproductive Toxicology"; Chapel Hill Bisphenol A Expert Panel Consensus...; vom Saal et al.; 2007
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