Unbelievable.

The National Toxicology Program says that certain plastic bottles release a chemical called bisphenol, which could cause breast cancer, prostate cancer, and early onset puberty. (see nytimes article)

This is the stuff that goes into baby bottles!  Is my 5 month old going to start growing pubic hair?

Put Jack aside for a minute….what about me???

I carry a blue/clear Nalgene waterbottle EVERYWHERE I go.  On business trips, I try to drink 6 refills a day to combat the dry air on planes and hotels.  When I take Jack for a walk, I always carry the Nalgene in the $34.95 cupholder on our $899 stroller.

I don’t do it because I care about the environment.  In fact, I’ve been caught transferring water from plastic Poland Spring bottles to my Nalgene, and then tossing the plastic into the landfill.  Does anyone remember those reports that warned against drinking from plastic bottles that had been left out in the sun?  Somehow the plastic bleeds into the water and your insides melt…  I guess the alternative isn’t any safer.

Anyway, there are some funny parts to this story.

First, no one paid attention when Canada declared the chemical to be toxic.  It must totally suck to be a Canadian scientist.

Second, all the evidence is based on rats hitting puberty early.  What exactly happens when a rat hits puberty?  Pimples?  Wet dreams?

The best part of this whole story is how it focuses on Nalgene, when in fact the interior of most cans are lined with an epoxy resin that contains the chemical.  Thermo Fisher’s stock seems to be doing just fine, but why are they getting all the attention?

The Onion’s take.