Some Aluminum Bottles Release More BPA Than Plastic: Study

A new study has found that some aluminum water bottles can actually leach more of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) than plastic containers, which is the type of bottle people usually associate with the hormone disrupting substance. 

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine conducted a study on how much BPA leaches from commonly used containers into the water you drink.

The study confirmed that bottles being marked as BPA-free are actually as advertised. However, the researchers found that aluminum water bottles lined with BPA, release more than nine times the BPA into water they store than polycarbonate bottles.

The researchers tested a number of bottle types at various temperatures, including polycarbonate bottles, aluminum bottles linked with a BPA-laced epoxy resin, Tritan copolyester plastic bottles, uncoated stainless steel bottles and aluminum bottles lined with EcoCare. The only two that leached BPA into the drinking water were the epoxy-lined aluminum bottles and the polycarbonate bottles that contained BPA.

At room temperature, the polycarbonate bottles released from 0.2 to 0.3 mg per liter into the drinking water. However, aluminum epoxy-lined bottles leached from 0.08 to 1.9 mg per liter. Researchers said the warmer it was, the more BPA the epoxy-lined aluminum water bottles released.

Bisphenol-A, more commonly referrerd to as BPA, is used to make many plastic products hard and shatterproof. Originally developed as a form of synthetic estrogen, it is used in the manufacture of many consumer products, such as bottles, cups, can liners, baby products and other food containers.

Exposure to BPA is suspected of causing hormonal changes by impacting the human endocrine system. It has also been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Some prior research has also suggested that BPA side effects can cause developmental abnormalities and other problems over time in infants and young children.

Last year, the FDA recommended that parents take “reasonable steps” to reduce infant exposure to BPA. The federal regulatory agency is currently conducting a re-evaluation of the safety of BPA, after previously indicating that exposure to the levels used in consumer products is safe. The new review was initiated in June 2009 after the FDA received substantial criticism from outside groups, politicians and its own scientists.