Drinking bottles leach chemicals

23. august, 2018

A recent test by the Norwegian Consumer Council shows that many of the reusable water bottles leach phthalates, bisphenol A, lead and other dangerous chemicals into the contents – albeit at very small amounts.

– It is very unfortunate that Hello Kitty-bottles from Sanrio release hazardous chemicals such as chlorinated paraffins, phthalates, bisphenol A, flame retardants and lead into the contents. These bottles can for example be purchased at Toys R Us. Even though the levels detected were low, we would have hoped for a bottle that is meant for children to fare much better in the test. Quite the contrary, this bottle is the worst performer, says Gunstein Instefjord, Head of Section for Trade at the Norwegian Consumer Council.

Plastic products contain potentially thousands of different chemical compounds. None of the bottles leached chemicals in amounts that would in itself be harmful to human health. In this analysis we have used a limit of “less than 0,2 micrograms per liter of organic substances” for our recommendation of bottles with a green smiley. The list of tested bottles in the order of best to worst can be found here below.

– We recommend choosing non-toxic products whenever possible. The wide variation in the levels of hazardous substances detected shows that many of the manufacturers have significant potential to improve their record. This goes especially for the manufacturers of bottles used by children, sold by a number of large retailers here in Norway, underlines Instefjord.

What matters is the total exposure

The test was done in a form of an analysis of amounts of different harmful substances that leach from a bottle into its content. Several different substances were found, the use of which is either forbidden or restricted by law, albeit in levels well below current limit values. Therefore none of the bottles examined causes a health hazard taken in isolation. However, taken together with all other products we surround us with, they can contribute towards a total exposure to chemicals that can be worrisome.

– We found surprisingly many unwanted substances, among them many regulated chemicals. Several of the bottles released both phosphororganic and brominated flame retardants in addition to many other chemicals we should use as little as possible. The hazardous nature of these substances is the reason why their use is strongly regulated. Many of the tested bottles are being used by children in schools and kindergartens, says Instefjord.

Need to do better

– Products that our children use every day should contain as little hazardous chemicals as possible. What our test also shows is that it is possible to make plastic bottles without almost any problematic substances. «Behållare» from Ikea and «Sistema square» purchased at Coop Obs are winners of the test. These bottles leach less harmful substances and in amounts well below what we found in other tested bottles. This shows that it is possible to make drinking bottles that in practice do not leach unwanted chemicals into their contents.

The tested bottles were purchased in various shops in Norway. However, most of the bottles can also be found in shops in most other European countries.

Test report in english    Norwegian version of the test

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