One Part Per How Much?

Have you been following the maelstrom whirling around plastic? The one identified by the number seven inside a triangle - polycarbonate - or PC, is one you need to be wary of, not that the others are necessarily a great deal safer. I'm just talking about that one. It contains Bisphenol A, making that number 7 anything but lucky, and it's all around you. More importantly, it's IN you. The bisphenol A (BPA) is a basic part of the clear, shatter-proof plastic used in water bottles and some dental sealants; food containers and baby bottles; and the epoxy resin lining inside most cans of food that you buy.
So what's the big deal with BPA? Testing done in the States has shown that more than 90% of the population there are walking around with trace amounts of the chemical in their bodies. There's the proof that it can indeed, under a variety of circumstances, leach from the plastic container it's supposed to stay in, and accumulate in us. Are you sure you want to take the assurance of the plastic industry that it is safe in the parts per billion exposure that drinking from a plastic water bottle generally results in? You should be aware that estrogen, the hormone that BPA mimics, is active at the much lower incidence of one part per billion. This "harmless" chemical has been linked to conditions that involve hormonal imbalance, like prostate and breast cancer, as well as early puberty and fetal development affects. That's a lot to play around with; a lot to trust to the parts-per-billion safety assurances of studies funded by plastic manufacturers.
Three of the major retailers in Canada have already decided they would rather err on the side of caution on behalf of their customers. Forzani Group Ltd. (think SportChek, National Sports, and Athletes' World, among others); the Bay and Zellers Stores; and Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. are removing BPA products from their shelves.
There are alternatives, and it might be safer for you and yours if you look into a few of them. My family and I have made the switch to a metal water bottle for each of us. Now we all sport SIGG bottles; mine displaying a burst of flowers. SIGG water bottles, extruded from a single piece of aluminum, have an internal coating of baked-on enamel that is taste-neutral and resistant to fruit acids contained in juice for instance, unlike BPA-laden plastic. Although I wanted to go floral, if your taste leans more to other motifs, you'll find all kinds of variety at the link above.
Here in Toronto, I know that breast cancer survivors can attend "survival workshops" where they are advised on steps to follow to safeguard themselves as best we currently know how. Among other things, they are told not to use plastic for food storage and never to microwave foods in plastic containers. You can make the switch entirely to glass or you can investigate some of the new bio-based plastics. They are not a miracle-cure for the problem of plastic, since some of them do not biodegrade, but those that do are certainly much more eco-friendly than those containing BPA's and other such chemicals.
If you care about the health of your family, you might want to keep a watchful eye on the use of plastic in your home. If you're motivated to safeguard the environment so you have a healthy one to hand on to your children and grandchildren, you might want to beware the use of plastic. Above all, if you have any desire to do all you can to ensure you live long enough to see your grandchildren, you might want to reconsider believing those with their profit margin at stake when they assure you that their plastics are perfectly safe.