Nalgenes (made in Penfield) come under fire for health risks

Worries about a hormone-mimicking chemical used in Nalgenes has led a major Canadian retailer to remove Nalgene and other polycarbonate plastic containers from store shelves in early December. There is little dispute that the chemical can disrupt the hormonal system, but scientists differ markedly on whether very low doses found in food and beverage containers can be harmful. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sides with the plastics industry that BPA-based products do not pose a health risk.

"Given there are comparably priced, greener alternatives, I'm quite convinced that within a couple of years, we're going to see the end of this chemical in consumer products," said Rick Smith, executive director of Toronto-based Environmental Defense Canada.

The controversy turned an unwelcome spotlight on Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. It employs about 900 people at a plant tucked behind a shopping plaza in the Rochester suburb of Penfield. Nalge Nunc was founded in 1949 by Rochester chemist Emanuel Goldberg. The lab-equipment supplier evolved in the 1970s when rumors about its scientists taking hardy lab vessels on weekend outings led to a water-bottle consumer unit targeting Boy Scouts, hikers and campers.

In 2000, a new sports line of Nalgene-brand bottles offered in red, blue and yellow hues quickly became the rage in high schools and on college campuses.

Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op is waiting for Canadian health regulators to finish a preliminary review in May before it reconsiders restocking its 11 stores with the reusable, transparent bottles made with bisphenol A, or BPA, a compound created by a Russian chemist in 1891.

	The Potential Dangers of Nalgene Bottles	apnews.myway.com	Thu Dec 27	1
	Polycarbonate Bottles Raise Questions	Associated Press	Sun Dec 23	0