Nalgene Water Bottles Popular Despite Controversy

Colorful Nalgene water bottles have been the popular hydration method of choice for many University students. While these trendy, lightweight and durable bottles seem to be the perfect choice for consumers, studies have shown that the indestructible bottle may actually be destructive. The Nalgene bottle owes its durability and attractiveness to the material it is made of: Lexan polycarbonate resin.

Lexan was developed by General Electric Plastics in 1953, when, according to GE’s Web site, Daniel W. Fox was working on a project to develop new wire insulation material. Fox had accidentally stumbled upon a substance that hardened in a beaker that was exhaustively unbreakable. He patented the revolutionary material. Nalgene Outdoor Products, a division of the Nalgene Company created in the 1970s, provided a durable line of goods for the outdoor enthusiast.

The division adopted Lexan into its product line, making it ideal for water bottle construction because of its durability and because the material did not hold odors or add taste to any liquid it held. The public caught on to the trend of Nalgene water bottles after the company expanded its color assortment in 2002.

But a study published in the April 2003 volume of Current Biology suggested that polycarbonate plastics, including Lexan, may be at the root of certain health-related issues.

Patricia Hunt of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, leader of the 1998 study, asserted that bisphenol-A (BPA), a building block of epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics, has shown adverse effects in rodents.

According to the Organic Consumers Association, BPA has been shown to cause chromosomal disorders and endocrine disruption and to have unfavorable effects on prostate development and tumors, breast tissue development and sperm count in lab-tested rodents.

The Nalgene Company posted a response on its Web site defending the product, stating, "Dr. Hunt’s findings are limited to cellular effects seen in individual mouse eggs."

The company argued further that polycarbonate has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and that it has been studied, tested and safely used for more than 40 years in products for human consumption.

In a November/December 2003 article published for Sierra Magazine, Hunt disagreed with the industry studies, stating they did not look at eggs or embryos.

"The (plastics) industry says this is just rodent studies," she said in the article. "But we know that the human egg is more fragile than the mouse egg. If we wait for really hard evidence in humans, it will be too late."

Despite the publications surrounding the Nalgene bottles last year, the popularity of the water bottles has not seemed to dwindle on campus.

Nalgene Company posted a response to BPA and Nalgene