http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/12/24/polyc...s.ap/index.html

 

December 24, 2007

 

Worries about a hormone-mimicking chemical [bisphenol A, or BPA] used

in the trendy sports accessory led a major Canadian retailer to remove

Nalgene and other polycarbonate plastic containers from store shelves

in early December.

 

There is little dispute that the chemical can disrupt the hormonal

system, but scientists differ markedly on whether very low doses found

in food and beverage containers can be harmful. The U.S. Food and Drug

Administration sides with the plastics industry that BPA-based products

do not pose a health risk.

 

The controversy turned an unwelcome spotlight on Nalge Nunc

International, a division of Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher

Scientific Inc. It employs about 900 people at a plant tucked behind a

shopping plaza in the Rochester suburb of Penfield.

 

Nalge Nunc was founded in 1949 by Rochester chemist Emanuel Goldberg.

The lab-equipment supplier evolved in the 1970s when rumors about its

scientists taking hardy lab vessels on weekend outings led to a

water-bottle consumer unit targeting Boy Scouts, hikers and campers.

Ahhhhh, Roger Clemens already told me about this on YouTube.