Probably. But it depends on the type of plastic the bottle is made from.
And in an effort to be more healthy, many of us make a point of carrying water bottles with us everywhere we go. But are our water bottles a health issue? Especially those made from plastic?
Generally they are safe, says Michael Moore, Emeritus Professor of Toxicology at the University of Queensland, but it depends on the kind of plastic the bottle is made of.
Most plastics are made of long chains of hydrocarbon molecules, built from simpler building blocks called monomers. Some plastics then have chemicals added to give them a characteristic such as flexibility or colour.
Buying bottled water
The 'single use' water bottles that you typically buy at milk bars, service stations and the like are usually made from polyethylene terephthalate (abbreviated to PET or PETE), an inexpensive and lightweight plastic. Its recycling code (the number in the centre of the triangle of arrows found on most plastics) is 1.
"PET is not one of the plastics that one would think has a propensity to cause a problem, says Moore.
Moore agrees with the US FDA, which says that PET bottles are safe for use and reuse so long as they are washed properly with detergent and water to remove bacteria.
The safety of using PET bottles was questioned after a student research project hit the headlines. The 2001 study found traces of a phthalate — a potentially harmful 'plasticiser' used to make some plastics more flexible — in water from PET bottles, but the research hadn't been verified.
Moore says PET has never contained phthalates and the public's association between the two could be based on the plastic's name.
And while some preliminary studies have suggested water from PET bottles can contain as-yet-unidentified substances with 'oestrogenic' properties (which disrupt the body's normal hormone regulation), Moore says no rigorous scientific review has backed these.
A substance called antimony is used in PET production and it can leach into the water in PET bottles. However, this doesn't pose much of a risk, says Moore.
"Antimony is not in the same league as lead or mercury toxicologically so the likelihood of harm is low, says Moore.
Using your own bottle
But what if you've decided not to buy bottled water, but to use a refillable water bottle to cut down on the plastic sent to landfill?
Polycarbonate has been commonly used to make the sturdy reusable water bottles that many of us use. Polycarbonate is one of the plastics classed as 'other' in the recycling scheme. It has a recycling code of 7, but not all bottles stamped with a 7 are made from polycarbonate.
Polycarbonate is made of a monomer called bisphenol A (BPA). As the plastic breaks down over time, BPA is released into the water held in polycarbonate bottles, particularly when the bottle is heated or repeatedly washed.
"If you have a bottle made of polycarbonate, on first use there probably isn't much depolymerisation but as you use it again and again — especially if things are warm or hot — then there's a high likelihood that there will be a breakdown of the plastic to release the monomer, says Moore.
But just because there is some BPA in the water, it doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous, says Moore.
Research in animals has found BPA can cause a range of conditions — such as cancer, diabetes, obesity and reproductive and developmental disorders. Some studies suggest that young animals metabolise BPA less efficiently than adults.
"But there's nothing much in the way of identified effects in humans — virtually all of the effects have been established in relatively higher levels of exposure in animal models. The level of exposure is probably not sufficient to cause these effects [in people]. But people who are feeding young children are saying 'I'd rather not take the chance' which is fair enough.
It's likely that soon we won't need to make these choices ourselves, says Moore. Even though most national food safety agencies, including Australia's FSANZ, say that the level of exposure to BPA is too low to be dangerous, food and drink companies are moving away from polycarbonate because of the bad press.
However, other agencies, such as the US National Toxicology Program, are worried enough to be carrying out reviews and the World Health Organisation is holding a meeting next month to review all the scientific evidence.
"There is a lot of ongoing work to look at the effects of this compound to see whether this genuinely represents a big issue. The position at present is that it doesn't constitute a huge issue, says Moore.
"In effect I would expect that in the very near future various agencies will make changes to the tolerable daily intake of BPA, he adds. The internationally agreed Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for BPA is currently 0.05 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
One plastic that can be undoubtedly dangerous for making water bottles is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which has a recycling code of 3. PVC often has phthalates added to make it flexible — though you can't tell this by looking at the recycling code. Thankfully, PVC is not often used to make water bottles.
Choosing a bottle
If you want to err on the side of caution, Moore suggests you avoid drinks bottles that have the recycling codes of 3 or 7, particularly for children.
The best bottles to use and reuse are those with the recycling codes 2, 4 and 5. 2 and 4 are made from polyethylene and 5 is made from polypropylene.
"There's absolutely nothing in polyethylene or polypropylene that could be classified as dangerous" says Moore. But these bottles are more expensive to make, so while they are likely to be found more and more in reusable bottles, PET is likely to be the plastic of choice for single-use bottles for a while to come.
You can also check that reusuable bottles say they are 'BPA-free' as some bottles may be made of number 5 plastic but use polycarbonate linings or mouthpieces.
Another rule of thumb is to use clear plastic rather than coloured or opaque because they eliminate small potential risks from colouring agents added to the plastic, says Moore.
And while stainless steel or aluminium bottles are often considered a safe bet, these still have some issues, says Moore. Stainless steel can corrode a little over time and while the released iron won't harm you, it'll add an unpleasant taste to your water.
Aluminium can also corrode and release aluminium salts into the water. One way of stopping this is to use a plastic liner, which takes you to square one. Glass is a good, but often impractical.
"In the end you've got to balance all the issues. I would think that many bottles are safe to use, even PET ones. The only one I would advise against are PVC and polycarbonate, concludes Moore.
And in an effort to be more healthy, many of us make a point of carrying water bottles with us everywhere we go. But are our water bottles a health issue? Especially those made from plastic?
Generally they are safe, says Michael Moore, Emeritus Professor of Toxicology at the University of Queensland, but it depends on the kind of plastic the bottle is made of.
Most plastics are made of long chains of hydrocarbon molecules, built from simpler building blocks called monomers. Some plastics then have chemicals added to give them a characteristic such as flexibility or colour.
Buying bottled water
The 'single use' water bottles that you typically buy at milk bars, service stations and the like are usually made from polyethylene terephthalate (abbreviated to PET or PETE), an inexpensive and lightweight plastic. Its recycling code (the number in the centre of the triangle of arrows found on most plastics) is 1.
"PET is not one of the plastics that one would think has a propensity to cause a problem, says Moore.
Moore agrees with the US FDA, which says that PET bottles are safe for use and reuse so long as they are washed properly with detergent and water to remove bacteria.
The safety of using PET bottles was questioned after a student research project hit the headlines. The 2001 study found traces of a phthalate — a potentially harmful 'plasticiser' used to make some plastics more flexible — in water from PET bottles, but the research hadn't been verified.
Moore says PET has never contained phthalates and the public's association between the two could be based on the plastic's name.
And while some preliminary studies have suggested water from PET bottles can contain as-yet-unidentified substances with 'oestrogenic' properties (which disrupt the body's normal hormone regulation), Moore says no rigorous scientific review has backed these.
A substance called antimony is used in PET production and it can leach into the water in PET bottles. However, this doesn't pose much of a risk, says Moore.
"Antimony is not in the same league as lead or mercury toxicologically so the likelihood of harm is low, says Moore.
Using your own bottle
But what if you've decided not to buy bottled water, but to use a refillable water bottle to cut down on the plastic sent to landfill?
Polycarbonate has been commonly used to make the sturdy reusable water bottles that many of us use. Polycarbonate is one of the plastics classed as 'other' in the recycling scheme. It has a recycling code of 7, but not all bottles stamped with a 7 are made from polycarbonate.
Polycarbonate is made of a monomer called bisphenol A (BPA). As the plastic breaks down over time, BPA is released into the water held in polycarbonate bottles, particularly when the bottle is heated or repeatedly washed.
"If you have a bottle made of polycarbonate, on first use there probably isn't much depolymerisation but as you use it again and again — especially if things are warm or hot — then there's a high likelihood that there will be a breakdown of the plastic to release the monomer, says Moore.
But just because there is some BPA in the water, it doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous, says Moore.
Research in animals has found BPA can cause a range of conditions — such as cancer, diabetes, obesity and reproductive and developmental disorders. Some studies suggest that young animals metabolise BPA less efficiently than adults.
"But there's nothing much in the way of identified effects in humans — virtually all of the effects have been established in relatively higher levels of exposure in animal models. The level of exposure is probably not sufficient to cause these effects [in people]. But people who are feeding young children are saying 'I'd rather not take the chance' which is fair enough.
It's likely that soon we won't need to make these choices ourselves, says Moore. Even though most national food safety agencies, including Australia's FSANZ, say that the level of exposure to BPA is too low to be dangerous, food and drink companies are moving away from polycarbonate because of the bad press.
However, other agencies, such as the US National Toxicology Program, are worried enough to be carrying out reviews and the World Health Organisation is holding a meeting next month to review all the scientific evidence.
"There is a lot of ongoing work to look at the effects of this compound to see whether this genuinely represents a big issue. The position at present is that it doesn't constitute a huge issue, says Moore.
"In effect I would expect that in the very near future various agencies will make changes to the tolerable daily intake of BPA, he adds. The internationally agreed Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for BPA is currently 0.05 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
One plastic that can be undoubtedly dangerous for making water bottles is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which has a recycling code of 3. PVC often has phthalates added to make it flexible — though you can't tell this by looking at the recycling code. Thankfully, PVC is not often used to make water bottles.
Choosing a bottle
If you want to err on the side of caution, Moore suggests you avoid drinks bottles that have the recycling codes of 3 or 7, particularly for children.
The best bottles to use and reuse are those with the recycling codes 2, 4 and 5. 2 and 4 are made from polyethylene and 5 is made from polypropylene.
"There's absolutely nothing in polyethylene or polypropylene that could be classified as dangerous" says Moore. But these bottles are more expensive to make, so while they are likely to be found more and more in reusable bottles, PET is likely to be the plastic of choice for single-use bottles for a while to come.
You can also check that reusuable bottles say they are 'BPA-free' as some bottles may be made of number 5 plastic but use polycarbonate linings or mouthpieces.
Another rule of thumb is to use clear plastic rather than coloured or opaque because they eliminate small potential risks from colouring agents added to the plastic, says Moore.
And while stainless steel or aluminium bottles are often considered a safe bet, these still have some issues, says Moore. Stainless steel can corrode a little over time and while the released iron won't harm you, it'll add an unpleasant taste to your water.
Aluminium can also corrode and release aluminium salts into the water. One way of stopping this is to use a plastic liner, which takes you to square one. Glass is a good, but often impractical.
"In the end you've got to balance all the issues. I would think that many bottles are safe to use, even PET ones. The only one I would advise against are PVC and polycarbonate, concludes Moore.
The Best Water Filter Options
What’s In Your Water?
If you are drinking tap water, the answer to that question is 300+ chemicals and pollutants, according to research from the Environmental Working Group. Among these contaminants are:
Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs) such as pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals. These chemicals are found in most municipal water sources and even in well and other sources due to agricultural run-off and contamination. Research links certain VOCs to damage in the reproductive system, liver, kidneys and more.
Heavy Metals like lead and mercury are found in some water sources and have been linked to any health problems.
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals are chemicals that may mimic or interfere with the normal hormones in the body and these chemicals are being found in increasing amounts in the water supply. From this testimony before a congressional committee on the issue: “Over the past fifty years, researchers observed increases in endocrine-sensitive health outcomes. Breast and prostatic cancer incidence increased between 1969 and 1986 ; there was a four-fold increase in ectopic pregnancies (development of the fertilized egg outside of the uterus) in the U.S. Between 1970 and 1987 ; the incidence of cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) doubled in the U.K. Between 1960 and the mid 1980s ; and there was an approximately 42% decrease in sperm count worldwide between 1940 and 1990 .” These chemicals are known to affect animals when they enter the water supply as well.
Fluoride: This is perhaps the most controversial of the contaminants in water (if something like water contaminants can be controversial!) because it is purposefully added to the water and there is much heated debate about the benefits/harm of this. Anyone who listened to the Heal Thy Mouth Summit is well aware of the potential dangers of Fluoride thanks to Dr. Kennedy, but the short is: If fluoride has any benefit, it would be directly to the teeth, as drinking the fluoride has not been statistically shown to increase oral health at all. Additionally, fluoride has been linked to thyroid problems and other disorders when consumed internally.
So what are the options for those of us not interested in drinking a chemical cocktail every time we are thirsty?
Bottled Water:
Bottled water has started falling out of favor lately and with good reason. Mark’s Daily Apple did an in-depth analysis of why, but bottled water is not a good option for several reasons:
Chemicals from the plastic bottle itself can leech into the water
In most cases, the water itself is no different than tap water
Bottled water costs more in many cases that drinking tap water
Water bottles are a major source of consumer waste each year!
Verdict: Not the best option on price, taste, or health so I skip it. That being said, having a bottle of water is very convenient, and there are some great sustainable options. Glass and steel water bottles are my personal favorites!
Pitcher Water Filters
Pitcher water filters like Brita use Granulated Activated Charcoal to remove some contaminants. They are less expensive than other filter options upfront, but require frequent filling (especially for large families) and cartridge replacement (making them more expensive in the long run). Since the carbon is not solid, it does not remove all toxins though these filters will improve taste.
Pitcher filters will reduce chlorine, but are not effective at removing VOCs, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors or fluoride. This category also includes faucet mount external filters, which use the same technology.
Verdict: Better than nothing, but doesn’t remove the worst offenders and is somewhat costly to use compared to other options.
Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Reverse Osmosis filtration uses a membrane which removes many contaminants from water. It is usually paired with a Granulated Activated Charcoal filter to remove chlorine and many mount under the sink and have a holding tank. The semipermeable membrane separates many contaminates (which usually have a larger particle size that water) from the water and rejects a large amount of water in the process.
The result is a waste of several gallons of water for every gallon filtered and many naturally occurring minerals (including calcium and magnesium) are also removed from the water. We used this type of filter for a long time but added trace minerals back in to the water to replace the ones that are filtered out. It does remove a large amount of contaminants but is not the best option, in my opinion.
Pros: Removes a large amount of contaminants. Many unites are stored under the sink and have a simple spigot over the counter for getting the water. Does reduce arsenic, asbestos and heavy metals. Does remove fluoride.
Cons: Wastes more water than it produces. Does not reduce VOCs or endocrine disruptors. Requires adequate water pressure to work so it is not usable if home water supply is cut off. Takes up to an hour to filter one gallon of water and filters need to be replaced regularly. Removes necessary minerals from the water.
Verdict: Certainly better than a lot of options out there and does remove fluoride, but not the best due to its waste of water and costly filters.
Distilled Water
The distillation process uses heat to cause the water to become steam. The steam rises and moves to a cooling chamber where it turns back into liquid, leaving behind many contaminants. This type of filtration reduces large particles like minerals and heavy metals but does not remove endocrine disruptors or VOCs since they vaporize at equal or lower temps that water and rise with the steam. It does effectively kill bacteria.
Pros: Removes a large amount of contaminants. Does reduce arsenic, asbestos and heavy metals. Does remove fluoride.
Cons: Does not reduce VOCs or endocrine disruptors. Home distillation systems are often large and expensive. Use a large amount of electricity and will not work in power outages. Removes necessary minerals from the water. Long term use can cause mineral deficiencies.
Verdict: Better than bottled water, but definitely not the best option out there, especially for home situations.
Solid Block Carbon Filters
Recognized by the EPA as the best option for removing chemicals like herbicides, pesticides and VOCs. Quality carbon block filters will remove chemicals, pesticides, bacteria, fluoride (with filter attachment), heavy metals, nitrate, nitrites and parasites. Most are gravity based and can safely transform any type of water into safe drinking water including rain water, pond water and even sea water (though these types of water will clog the filters much more quickly and are not ideal!) It will even filter water with food coloring to create clear water (yes, I tested it…)
This is the option that we use now and my only complaint is that it does take up counter space. The advantages are that it is gravity based and will work even without electricity or running water. While these types of units can be more pricey that pitcher filters or other filters up front, they seem to be the least expensive in the long run and require the fewest filter replacements (a big plus for me!). These types of filters also don’t remove naturally occurring minerals from the water, making it the best tasting filtered water option, in my opinion.
Using a filter calculator, I’ve determined that the specific system we use won’t need to be replaced for over 20 years with our current usage (though I’m guessing our usage will increase as the kids get older).
The most common type of this filter is the Berkey and it comes in many sizes for different uses. It can even be used camping to filter river water for drinking! (Tested this too and it saved one of my brother in-laws from Giardia when other members of his group got it while camping)
Pros: Filters VOCs, heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride, nitrates/ites, bacteria, parasites and other chemicals. Very inexpensive per gallon cost and infrequent filter replacement. Great tasting water. Doesn’t require electricity or water pressure to work. Portable options can even be used while traveling.
Cons: Does require counter space and does have to be manually filled (not a big deal for us, we just fill at night and we have plenty of water the next day). More expensive up front. Does not remove endocrine disruptors and there are some concerns with third party testing with some brands.
Verdict: A good option, especially in places where under-counter or permanent systems are not an option. We uses this one for years before our current system.
Under Counter Multi-Stage Filters:
After years of research and trying most of the options above at some point, we finally found and switched to an under-counter multi-stage water filter system that meets all of the criteria and exceeds them. I review the one we personally use in depth in this post, but in short, it filters water through a 14-stage process that utilizes most of the methods listed above, along with others like UV and adds minerals back in. During the filtration process, water goes through these stages:
Stage 1 – Five Micron Pre-Filter
Stage 2 – Internal Coconut Shell Carbon Filter (like Berkey)
Stage 3 – Reverse Osmosis Membrane (Purifier #1) (like regular RO but more efficient)
Stage 4 – Mixed Bed De-Ionization Purifier (Purifier #2)
Stage 5 – Mixed Bed De-Ionization Purifier (Purifier #3)
Stages 6 & 7 – Homeopathic Restructuring – Erasing Memory, Molecule Coherence
Stage 8 – Holding Tank – standard tank holds about 3 gallons of pure water. Other tanks are available.
Stage 9 – Ultraviolet Light – 14 Watt
Stage 10 – Reprogramming – Adding Natural Mineral Properties
Stages 11-12 – Far-Infrared Reprogramming
Stage 13 – Coconut Shell Carbon Post-Filtration
Stage 14 – Alka-Min (Alkalizing, Ionic Remineralization)
It removes fluoride, lead, chlorine, MTBE, chromium-6, nitrates, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, water-borne illness and more.
We absolutely love this water filter and I’ve recommended it to my own family members.
Pros: Removes the widest range of contaminants. Very easy to use with no manual filling required. Spigot attaches near sink for easy use. Water tastes great.
Cons: Must be installed under the sink. We had to hire a plumber for this, though we probably could have figured it out ourselves, I was just reluctant to try.
Verdict: The best option I’ve found and the one we currently use.
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