How Safe Are Plastic Water Bottles?

We have all heard many stories about how plastic drinking bottles are not safe to use because they leach out dangerous chemicals that are hazardous and toxic. But you may also have heard stories that say just the opposite and state that plastic drinking bottles are safe and do NOT leach out dangerous chemicals.

So, what should you believe?

First, it should be noted that there are 2 different plastics that make up most of the bottles we use for storing drinking water. One is known as PET (polyethylene-terephalate), which is used in bottles less than 1 gallon in size. The other is known as PC (polycarbonate) and this is used where more strength is required, such as for 3 or 5 gallon water bottles used in water coolers. The PET bottles are marked with a "1" inside a small triangle usually found on the bottom of the container. Polycarbonate bottles will have a "2" inside that same triangle.

Second, it should be stated that only one of these bottles is associated with a toxic material known as BPA (Bisphenol-A) which has been found to probably cause cancer in lab rats. That bottle is the PC bottle. The PET bottle does NOT have that chemical present.

So, in general, the PET bottles of drinking water you find at the local supermarket are safe to buy. They will not cause cancer or leach out any dangerous chemicals. So what about the PC bottles? Yes they contain small amounts of BPA but not to any dangerous level when used normally. In fact, the FDA has set limits of acceptable BPA for drinking water bottles, and a normal adult male would have to drink 1,093 gallons of bottled water every DAY to reach that level. A small child would have to consume more than 150 gallons of water every day to reach that level.

In June of 2010 the FDA issued a statement saying that they no longer considered BPA to be a dangerous chemical when used according to its guideline. In fact they have decided to take another look and do some more thorough testing to determine if there is really any danger at all. They were prompted to do this because they found some questionable data in the earlier tests they had used for making their original statement of warning. Those new tests are being conducted as this article is being written but results are not expected for years.

The Conclusion

From a scientific standpoint the plastic bottles that are used for drinking water are completely safe for use and do not contain chemicals that are dangerous to your health when used as intended. If you drink less than 1,000 gallons of water a day from them you are not putting yourself at risk, at least not because of the plastics used. In reality many parents still are not comfortable having their children drink bottled water from plastic containers. But now the evidence shows it is perfectly safe to do so. Maybe it's time we start looking at the danger of the source of the water being put in the bottles rather than the plastic from which the bottles are made.