Is this water safe to drink?

S. Burger of Noble, IL asks:

My bottled water comes delivered in bottles made of #7 plastic. Is this water safe to drink?

The Green Guide's Research Editor, Allison Sloan, replies:

Thanks for calling us with your question about #7 (polycarbonate) plastic. #7 is technically the code for "other" resins besides those labeled 1-6, but #7 usually denotes polycarbonate plastic, which is used to make most 5-gallon clear spring water bottles, most clear plastic baby bottles, some clear plastic dinnerware (forks, spoons, etc.), and compact disks, among other non-food-related consumer products.

Although there are currently no health problems that have been directly linked with drinking liquids or eating foods stored in polycarbonate, we recommend avoiding this plastic as a precaution. Our reasons for this advice hinge around polycarbonate's basic building block, a chemical called bisphenol-A that is considered a probable carcinogen by the U.S. National Toxicology Program and is also a suspected hormone disruptor [Correction: the U.S. National Toxicology Program has found bisphenol-A "unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity to humans "--Ed.] . These health effects would not be of as much concern if bisphenol-A stayed contained within the plastic, but tests by Consumer Reports have detected traces of the chemical (i.e. as little as to be measured in parts per billion) in water bottled in polycarbonate, and higher levels in heated infant formulas, leading CR to recommend that parents throw out polycarbonate baby bottles. Granted, the amounts found in water were very tiny, but given that very low doses of bisphenol-A have caused a variety of health effects in laboratory animals, it makes sense to avoid unnecessary exposures when possible. For an explanation of how hormone disrupting chemicals work and their potential health effects, please refer to GG #88-89, our Shopper's Guide to Plastics and Food. The references on that page can lead you to more information about what tests of bisphenol-A on laboratory animals have found. There's also an excellent, thorough summary of bisphenol-A's health effects, with links to the health studies, at www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/bisphenola/bpauses.htm

If you're looking for cleaner water, you'll save money, reduce exposure to chemicals in plastics, and greatly reduce plastic waste (polycarbonate is not recycled in most communities) by purchasing a water filter instead of relying on bottled water. For more recommendations, see The Green Guide's Securing Our Water, or refer to our product report on water filters.