2008 Woodie Awards
Miami removes CamelBak bottles from shelves
Nick Huebner
Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Campus
A popular item among students, the hard plastic polycarbonate Miami University water bottle has recently been taken off the shelves at the Miami University Bookstore after it was discovered that a main ingredient in the plastic could possibly pose a health risk.
The ingredient in the polycarbonate bottles in question is bisphenol A, or BPA, a compound invented by a Russian chemist in 1891. Scientists discovered that polycarbonate water bottles contain a chemical that mimics the hormones, according to Ben Dobbin, a researcher on the negative effects of polycarbonate bottles, in an online Yahoo news article titled "Polycarbonate Worries."
"There is still plenty of dispute by researchers in the scientific community whether or not the low doses found in food and beverage containers can be harmful," Dobbin said in the news article.
Over this past Winter Break, Miami sophomore Adam Harris came across an article in Yahoo News, questioning the safety of polycarbonate water bottles. He said this article raised concern, because shortly before, Harris had purchased a hard plastic water bottle from the Miami University Bookstore.
Curiosity inspired Harris to contact the manufacturer of the water bottle, CamelBak Products, a company out of Petaluma, Calif., which led him to find out that the water bottle he had bought did in fact contain BPA.
Shortly after this discovery, Harris notified the bookstore by sending the original Yahoo News article and the response from the company.
"When they got my article, the bookstore pulled all of the bottles off of the shelves as a precaution," Harris said. From here, he said the bookstore checked with its supplier and found that all of the water bottles contain BPA. He said the bookstore plans to keep all of the water bottles off of the shelves until further testing is conducted to prove the product's safety.
"Rarely has a chemical been the subject of such intense scientific scrutiny and still important agencies across the globe agree that there is no danger posed to humans from polycarbonate bottles," according to Tom Cummins, director of new product research and development at Nalgene and Nunc Brand Products in a press release. "We'll continue to work closely with our polycarbonate suppliers and monitor research publications and regulatory developments worldwide to ensure the safety of our manufactured products."
The ingredient in the polycarbonate bottles in question is bisphenol A, or BPA, a compound invented by a Russian chemist in 1891. Scientists discovered that polycarbonate water bottles contain a chemical that mimics the hormones, according to Ben Dobbin, a researcher on the negative effects of polycarbonate bottles, in an online Yahoo news article titled "Polycarbonate Worries."
"There is still plenty of dispute by researchers in the scientific community whether or not the low doses found in food and beverage containers can be harmful," Dobbin said in the news article.
Over this past Winter Break, Miami sophomore Adam Harris came across an article in Yahoo News, questioning the safety of polycarbonate water bottles. He said this article raised concern, because shortly before, Harris had purchased a hard plastic water bottle from the Miami University Bookstore.
Curiosity inspired Harris to contact the manufacturer of the water bottle, CamelBak Products, a company out of Petaluma, Calif., which led him to find out that the water bottle he had bought did in fact contain BPA.
Shortly after this discovery, Harris notified the bookstore by sending the original Yahoo News article and the response from the company.
"When they got my article, the bookstore pulled all of the bottles off of the shelves as a precaution," Harris said. From here, he said the bookstore checked with its supplier and found that all of the water bottles contain BPA. He said the bookstore plans to keep all of the water bottles off of the shelves until further testing is conducted to prove the product's safety.
"Rarely has a chemical been the subject of such intense scientific scrutiny and still important agencies across the globe agree that there is no danger posed to humans from polycarbonate bottles," according to Tom Cummins, director of new product research and development at Nalgene and Nunc Brand Products in a press release. "We'll continue to work closely with our polycarbonate suppliers and monitor research publications and regulatory developments worldwide to ensure the safety of our manufactured products."
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