Every day, thousands of students fill Western's campus, many of whom carry colorful Nalgene bottles. Students assume these bottles are safe, but a recent study involving plastic lab cages may prove otherwise.
According to a study by Patricia Hunt, a geneticist at Case Western Reserve University, bisphenol-A, a chemical found in polycarbonate lab cages and polycarbonate Nalgene bottles, increases chromosomal abnormalities. The abonormalities can cause miscarriages and birth defects.
BPA, a building block of epoxy resins (adhesives) and polycarbonate plastics, is a chemical that mimics the hormone estrogen, which also may leach into water or other liquids from Nalgene bottles.
Steven Dillman, interim chairman of the engineering technology department, said this study should be approached with skepticism.
"There is very little BPA in the polycarbonate (used in Nalgene bottles)," Dillman said. "The amounts of residual BPA are very, very small."
Dillman said if any effect on a user were present, it would be a small one.
"I wouldn't be concerned unless this effect is really demonstrated (through further testing)," Dillman said. "It seems unlikely to me that this would (cause) a big effect."
Dillman said the amount of BPA humans ingest from Nalgene bottles or other polycarbonate products is tiny compared to the amounts of estrogen humans ingest from eating animal products.
"(Hunt's study) observed this problem when they washed the polycarbonate with a harsh detergent," Dillman said. "It is an issue if you are doing biological experiments, but I don't think it's an issue for consumers."
Dr. Emily Gibson, the Student Health Center medical director, said high amounts of estrogen cause many symptoms, including premature development in young girls and breast development and feminization in young boys.
It also interrupts normal menstrual cycles in women and damages fetuses. She said these symptoms require significant doses of estrogen.
Nunc International, the producer of Nalgene bottles, denies any side effects would be caused from BPA leaching from the polycarbonate bottles, according to its Web site.
Spencer Anthony-Cahill, Western assistant professor of chemistry, said BPA would mimic estrogen by binding to receptors inside cells, resulting in the synthesis of proteins that do not normally occur without estrogen.
"As long as it fits the receptors, the body considers it estrogen," Gibson said.
Although the body responds to the BPA as if it were estrogen, the risk of side effects is low, according to the Nunc International Web site.
"Government agencies worldwide have spent over four decades researching the effects of BPA and have found that BPA in plastic does not pose a (high) risk to consumers or to the environment," according to the Web site.
Bellingham REI supervisor John Smith said the polycarbonate Nalgene bottles are some of the most popular items at the store.
He said people tend to choose the polycarbonate Nalgene bottle instead of other plastic Nalgene bottles because they are more durable.
Smith said he also uses the polycarbonate Nalgene bottles, but he is not worried about any adverse health effects.
"I haven't noticed any funky growth on me," Smith said.