Is it ok to buy plastic water bottles?
ペットボトルの水を買っていいの？
I worry about plastic products.
What is BPA?
Which plastic water bottles are the best?
Plastic water bottles are all around us, and they are very easy to pick up for emergencies. You might have heard that “plastics are made of dangerous compounds and contain harmful chemicals.
The toxic chemicals in plastic bottles leach into the water, and when you drink it, those dangerous substances end up in your body. The toxins lead to all kinds health conditions like liver disease, kidney damage, and breast and uterine cancer. Most plastic water bottles are made from plastic known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). On hot days PET can release toxic antinomy into the water. Phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), found in many plastics, are endocrine disruptors that cause problems with growth, brain development and reproduction.” !?
プラスチックに含まれる化学物質が、熱などで染み出し体内に入り、人体への有害性が否定できない…..?!
I don’t know how much of this information is true, and if it is true, to what extent we should worry about it. If you look, you can find some studies that say plastics are bad for you and other studies that suggest that they’re fine. Personally, I can’t help but think that plastic might not be good for your health. And if there’s a chance that it’s bad, I’d rather play it safe, generally speaking, and use alternatives to plastic.
So, I don’t recommend storing plastic water bottles for long periods of time. But it should be ok to keep plastic water bottles in a cool, shady spot, for years, for use in an emergency.
長期間でのペットボトル水の保管を強くはお勧めできませんが、適切な場所での保管ができていればOK.
My family and I have drunk water that was stored in plastic bottles for one year in our garage,
and so far, we haven’t had any problems.
Please, check out this chart . (AlansFactoryOutlet.com). This graphic is very well put together and easy to understand.
You maybe already know about the numbers, 1 through 7, on plastic containers. Check the temperature column in the graphic above. This temperature information is very important for storing water bottles in your emergency stockpile space. According to this chart, plastic bottles with the number 1 (i.e., PET bottles) have a maximum temperature of 70°C (158°F); any hotter than that and they can release highly toxic antimony and bromine into your drinking water. Scary stuff!
In addition to chemicals from the plastic containers themselves potentially contaminating bottled water, there’s also a concern that tiny plastic fragments called microplastics, and now even smaller pieces called nanoplastics, are ending up in bottled water somehow, unintentionally, as a result of the filtration and bottling processes.
⚠️
There is so much info out there about plastic products, and so much of it contradictory, that it’s hard to know what to believe. It seems like even the experts are not completely sure about safety.
プラスチック容器に関して沢山の情報があり、プロでも安全かどうか言い切れない様子。
On one hand, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advise:
▪︎ “When water (bottled water or tap water) is exposed to extended periods of direct sunlight or heat sources, algae or mold may infrequently develop. Although this is not a general concern for public health, the bottled water industry wants you to enjoy the freshest, cleanest water possible, and storing water in a cool place out of direct sunlight helps to ensure that.”(IBWA)
▪︎ “Bottled water and other beverages are packaged in sanitary and highly protective, sealed plastic containers that maintain the quality and freshness of the product. However, plastic containers – whether used for bottled water or other beverages – are slightly permeable, which may allow ambient air gases (such as vapors from household solvents, petroleum-based fuels, and other chemicals) to affect the taste and odor of your beverage. Your bottled water company takes great care to store and transport its products carefully so you can enjoy the fresh, clean taste you expect from bottled water. Proper storage will help ensure product quality.” (IBWA)
▪︎ “There currently is both a lack of standardized methods and no scientific consensus on the potential health impacts of nano- and microplastic particles. Therefore, media reports about these particles in drinking water do nothing more than unnecessarily scare consumers.” (IBWA)
▪︎ “BPA is safe at the very low levels that occur in some foods. This assessment is based on the review of hundreds of studies. The FDA continues to monitor the research.” (FDA)
hat sounds innocuous enough, doesn’t it? However, other articles I found make plastic sound less benign:
▪︎ “In [a] recent study from researchers at Columbia University using the new nanoplastic detection method, researchers revealed 10 to 100 times more nanoplastics in bottled water than had previously been documented. The new study found between 110,000 and 370,000 nanoparticles, most of which were nanoplastics, when they tested three popular bottled water brands.” (MedicalNewsToday.com)
▪︎ “Microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory at levels known to be eaten by people via their food, a study has found. They found specific types of harm – cell death, allergic response, and damage to cell walls – were caused by the levels of microplastics that people ingest.” (TheGuardian.com)
Unfortunately, there is so much info out there about plastic products, and so much of it contradictory, that it’s hard to know what to believe. It seems like even the experts are not completely sure about safety. In my previous post I lamented that no one is ever 100 percent sure about water quality. It is the same with plastics, sadly. But in a dire emergency, we don’t really have a choice. We have to hope we’ll get lucky. I know, I know, I said the same thing last time. I’m repeating myself. But I’ll say it again. It’s a fact.
ペットボトル水が100%安全と言い切れないならば、災害時に水があっただけ幸運だったと思うことにする。
See you next time!
Remember, “Protect your life by yourself” （自分の命は自分で守る). You need to survive first, and then you need your emergency supply. No matter how well you prepared your emergency supplies, if you die, then all of your preparations will have been for nothing. First and foremost, keep your health up all the time. Build your stamina so that if you need to, you can evacuate as quickly as possible. Stay healthy