Water bottle safety questioned

A chemical commonly used in plastic bottles and food containers is expected to be declared a dangerous substance by Health Canada as early as today.
In anticipation, two of the country’s largest retailers removed some water and baby bottles from shelves yesterday.
Bisphenol A, a chemical used in shatter-proof plastic, is being reviewed by the federal government’s Chemicals Management Plan. If Health Canada deems it a dangerous substance, it’ll be the first regulatory body in the world to do so.
Hudson’s Bay Co. and The Forzani Group, which owns Sport Check, Athlete’s World and Coast Mountain Sports, yesterday pulled products made with Bisphenol, also called BPA.
Richard Burnet, chief financial officer for The Forzani Group, told Metro that instructions went out yesterday morning to recall the affected products.
“We did it simply out of an overabundance of caution, no reason other than that,” Burnet said.
“We have signage up in stores where the replacement products are sold and at the tills stating that yes, we will refund the product.”
The evidence against BPA is mounting. A draft report released yesterday by the United States’ National Toxicology Program found that BPA may be tied to early puberty, as well as prostate and breast cancer.
When Environment Canada releases its draft assessment of BPA, it’ll have one year to issue a report on how it will control exposure.
– fernando.carneiro@metronews.ca