What’s in My Water Bottle?
A Question of Environmental Estrogens
Janna R. McLean
Colorado State University
Christy Copeland
Keisha Davis
Gulad Abdi
Lucretia Biery
Biology 1308
Professor Childress
What’s In My Water Bottle?
A Question of Environmental Estrogens
The overall topic of Janna R. Mclean’s case study “What’s In My Water Bottle?” revolves around the question of whether or not chemicals used to make plastic containers are a health hazard to humans. A particular focus is placed on whether the chemical ingredient in polycarbonate and polysulfone plastic called Bisphenol A, BPA abbreviated, act as estrogen and effect estrogen levels. Research is continually being conducted since possibly harmful BPA is found in almost 90% of plastic containers ( ). Although many shelved plastic products are labeled BPA-Free, plastic containers still run the risk of leaking harmful BPA into drinking water and food when BPA is broken down by exposure to heat ( ). Research has not yet proven how BPA is harmful; That is to say, definitive results have not shown whether BPA directly causes cancer, or if BPA is a catalyst for cancer cell replication. Regardless of how BPA is harmful, the possibility of poisonous contamination to all plastic exposed products poses a threat to human health and has resulted in case studies like Mclean’s “What’s in My Water Bottle?” Mclean’s case study addresses multiple experiments that are conducted to determine how much BPA is in certain plastics, and how the BPA effects estrogen levels that in turn effect cancer cells, reproductive organs, and lipid metabolism. In 1976 the Safe Drinking Act was passed setting limits on the amount of contamination that could enter the public drinking supply ( ).Thus, consumers trustingly eat and drink from plastic containers daily, and only research on the possibility of harmful contamination can protect and