MEC pulls lexan nalgene bottles from shelves

[trouble]

On monday, MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op, basically the Canadian equivalent of REI) pulled all of their lexan nalgene bottles from their shelves (at least in Vancouver) and stopped selling them due to "suspected hormone disruptor" Bisphenol-A leaching from the plastic.

Considering that MEC is most likely the largest seller of nalgene water bottles in Canada, and I am guessing that is one of their best selling items, it seems like a pretty big move. It was only the lexan bottles, HDPE and LDPE bottles stayed.

So are they being alarmists or should we all use kleen kanteens instead?

http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/nalgene

[f2f]

what then? http://www.sigg.ch/ ?

[yesIsaidyes]

isn't aluminum bad for you too?

[Dromond]

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/re...s-c-19_43.html

[NorCascader]

isn't aluminum bad for you too?

NO.
just be sure not to smoke out of your sigg

[ptavv]

Alarmist. Not that reactionaries are ever placated by people educated in these fields telling them that things are safe...

[Tippster]

Goddamn the Hippies must be hatin' this news.

[Cliff Huckable]

Alarmist. Not that reactionaries are ever placated by people educated in these fields telling them that things are safe...

...yeah? So, what were you going to say?

Goddamn the Hippies must be hatin' this news.

Hippies? Why?

[Van_skier]

Nalgene Lexan as well as other brand Lexan bottles are still on the MEC website and when you search for store availability, it still shows they are available in all stores...

[DerJaeger]

Unless there's some new study, it sounds like an overreaction. Info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol-A

[iceman]

isn't aluminum bad for you too?

There's been some connection suggested between cooking with aluminum and Alzheimer's, not sure how true (if at all) it is.

[Tippster]

Wow - if that's true, then somebody's gonna be wiping my drool before too long.

Cliff: 'Round here every ex-post-facto hippie worth their salt only imbibes pure spring water from nalgene bottles while scoffing at those who are not. It's annoying. I am annoyed.

Thanks for that.

[trouble]

Nalgene Lexan as well as other brand Lexan bottles are still on the MEC website and when you search for store availability, it still shows they are available in all stores...

Well they are all gone from the store itself, maybe the website is just not updated?

[glenn]

isn't aluminum bad for you too?

Those with Alzheimer's, especially in the late stages have increasing amounts of aluminum in their brain. Some have conjectured that possibly cooking may deposit in food, and thus in your body, and it ends up in your brain. (Similar claims have been made about crude smoking instruments... "tinnies"). Others feel the Alzheimer's is the cause of the aluminum deposits.

I'm not aware of any research which actually confirms aluminum as a cause. However with the extremely wide usage of aluminum for cooking across the U.S. you would expect nearly everyone to get Alzheimer's, and that is simply not the case.

[iceman]

I wasn't stating it as a fact....oh, look, a hummingbird.

What's my name again?

[snoboy]

Or maybe it ^^ is, could explain a few things, like the ability to forget what a twit your president is, and re-elect him...

[Huckwheat]

I researched awhile back....both here and more scientific places. I learned the mice that were getting f'd up both lived and ate out of Lexan, and they washed it all regularly with industrial cleaners. So the stuff was milky white and totally trashed......hence the BPA stuff.

My final determination was to throw away all my old milky looking bottles and just use new one's. Both the wife and I are now drinking from new Camelbak bottles......I just think I will spend the 7 bucks once a year to replace (OH, and I dont put in hot dishwashers).

http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83096

[72Twenty]

Wow - if that's true, then somebody's gonna be wiping my drool before too long.

Cliff: 'Round here every ex-post-facto hippie worth their salt only imbibes pure spring water from nalgene bottles while scoffing at those who are not. It's annoying. I am annoyed.

Thanks for that.

And every college student here has some color of Nalgene attached to a caribiner that is attached to their backpack. It's EXTREME.

[L7]

This all came up at least a year ago and has prompted a whole bunch of further studys. I'm surprised MEC went 'alarmist' now unless some new results just came in from one of those studies. I believe the bottles they sell most water in over the counter as well as pop also had the problem. Something about the chemicals released mimics estrogen (maybe inhibits natural production) and is linked to reproductive cancers.

[Wiilbert]

Well they are all gone from the store itself, maybe the website is just not updated?

I read it on the internet, it must be true....

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/...henol-mec.html

Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op has become the first major Canadian retailer to pull from its store shelves products containing bisphenol-A, a common chemical found in hard plastic containers, according to a report.

Tim Southam, a MEC spokesman, told the Globe and Mail that consumers who shop at the sporting-gear store have expressed concern about the controversial chemical.

Mountain Equipment Co-op is removing products containing bisphenol-A from its stores because of health concerns.Mountain Equipment Co-op is removing products containing bisphenol-A from its stores because of health concerns.
(CBC)

"We've been following this issue quite closely and it's one we've seen an increasing concern [about] among some members," Southam said.

The federal government is looking into whether BPA poses any health threats to humans. Health Canada is expected to release its findings in a report by May.

BPA is found in a range of products, including Nalgene bottles, food containers and children's toys.

Recent studies have suggested BPA may be linked to fertility problems.

In January 2007, Yale researchers found that when BPA was administered to pregnant mice, it altered a gene responsible for normal uterine development. The study published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, theorized that exposure to the chemical could lead to infertility in people.

Plastic bottle maker Nalgene on its website says BPA has been used around the globe for more than 50 years, noting studies from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have showed the chemical doesn't pose a health risk.

[danimal's dead]

I have always hated the way water tastes after being in those Nalgene bottles for any legth of time. Something about those things makes them stinky and funky.

I've never understood the Nalgene phoenomenon.

[Adolf Allerbush]

Those with Alzheimer's, especially in the late stages have increasing amounts of aluminum in their brain. Some have conjectured that possibly cooking may deposit in food, and thus in your body, and it ends up in your brain. (Similar claims have been made about crude smoking instruments... "tinnies"). Others feel the Alzheimer's is the cause of the aluminum deposits.

I'm not aware of any research which actually confirms aluminum as a cause. However with the extremely wide usage of aluminum for cooking across the U.S. you would expect nearly everyone to get Alzheimer's, and that is simply not the case.

Are you guys cooking out of one of those water bottles? I hope not. If so, what do you do? Jam food down the opening of the water bottles?

I have an aluminum water bottle/canteen deal like the above sited. Works great. I'm not eating the aluminum nor am I heating the fucker and ingesting it in its molten form.

[truth]

This "threat" has been circulating for at least 5 years. Same thing was said about reusing plastic water bottles such as Evian and what not. Meh.

[BentonMiller]

While I agree with most posters that a lot of this is overblown hype, I'd rather be safe than sorry, and there are a lot of great alternatives out there:

1. Guyot Designs Stainless steel bottles. Classy, indestructable, and the only thing better to store liquids in than stainless steel is glass or titanium.
2. Nalgen HDPE bottles, these are the original bottles that Nalgene made. Different plastic. More translucent than transparent.
3. Camelback just came out with some new transparent Bisephenol-A free bottles.

One thing about the Siggs: they're aluminum, but actually plastic lined since Aluminum would otherwise oxidize. Plus, I'm pretty sure that aluminum on it's own isn't that good for you.

[Adolf Allerbush]

One thing about the Siggs: they're aluminum, but actually plastic lined since Aluminum would otherwise oxidize. Plus, I'm pretty sure that aluminum on it's own isn't that good for you.

the one I just bought is stainless steal. $10 REI.