Polycarbonate Danger!!!

Update 25 December 2008: Health Ministry says polycarbonate bottles are safe based on research. Also read about how the poor in Indonesia purify their drinking water here.

I remember plenty of warnings from friends, the net and e-mails not to store and drink water from those 1.5 litres (used to be just 1.25L until our appetite became larger :p). I mean, it is so common here in Malaysia - and I suppose in many other countries - to clean the bottle after finishing the carbonated drinks or mineral water that came in the bottles and then use them to store our normal drinking water. So convenient, so easy, so disposable.

Then, the warnings came NOT to use them, especially those with low numbers (numbers inside the recycle logo). The ones we often use comes with the number "1". I never believed those warnings so I continued to use them. *SHY*

Today, the Star Online proved that water bottles or containers with higher numbers are not safe... well, at least those marked with PC (polycarbonate) or with the number "7". Excerpts:

He said that such bottles can be identified by a number seven inside a triangle with the letters PC next to it.

“The bottles are being sold everywhere and people think they are safe as they can withstand high temperature liquids.

“But researchers have found out that BPA can leach into the bottle’s contents through normal wear and tear, exposure to heat and cleaning agents,” he said.

Mohamed Idris claimed that a study conducted by the University of Missouri found that the chemical can even leach into liquids at room temperature.

“This finding is alarming and I urge the Education Ministry and parents to ban the use of the bottles in schools and for the people to restrain from using polycarbonate or any other plastic bottles,” he said.

He said that steel or glass bottles are preferred and cost about the same as the polycarbonate bottle at around RM12.