Eco group warns vs lead paint in reusable water bottles for school

Published May 3, 2013 7:48am

School season will start in about a month's time and this early, parents may be on the lookout for new school stuff, including lunchboxes and reusable water bottles.

An ecological group on Thursday, however, warned parents against traces of lead in some water bottles they may buy for the coming school year.

The EcoWaste Coalition said at least 14 samples of water bottles being sold in the market were found to have over 100,000 parts per million of lead. This is way above the US limit of 90 parts per million for lead in paint and surface coatings.

“Kid-safe reusable water bottles should not only be easy-to-carry, lightweight, leak-proof and durable, but must be properly labeled and free of harmful chemicals that can put a child’s health and development at risk,” said group coordinator Anthony Dizon.

“None of the samples indicated being free of bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting chemical like lead, used in polycarbonate plastic, plastic lining and plastic spout,” he added.

EcoWaste said that of some 30 aluminum, stainless-steel and plastic water bottles priced between P15 to P344, 14 samples had the "elevated" amounts of lead.

It said it bought the samples from bargain centers such as the 168 Shopping Mall, 999 Shopping Mall, 11/88 Shopping Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Tutuban Mall and New Divisoria Mall in Manila, and from shops in Cubao, Quezon City.

“None of the products had information about their chemical ingredients, and none of them carry any precautionary warning about lead and other chemicals of concerns,” Dizon said.

The group also said only one of the seven plastic samples had a "plastic recycling code" on the bottom of the container, which describes the type of plastic used.

Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, the group detected lead up to the brim of two samples—increasing the chances of children accidentally ingesting lead.

Lead has been found to be harmful at certain levels, affecing the brain and nervous system, EcoWaste Coalition said, citing health experts.

Meanwhile, the group gave tips in selecting safe reusable water bottles:

Check the plastic number at the bottom of the water bottle. Avoid plastic numbers 3 (polyvinyl chloride or PVC plastic, which contains phthalates), 6 (polystyrene, which is from styrene, a possible carcinogen) and 7 (polycarbonate or PC plastic, which contains BPA).

Avoid aluminum and stainless steel water bottles coated with paint, especially yellow paint, unless the manufacturer claims the bottle does not contain lead.

Choose water bottles that are “BPA-free.”

When choosing glass-lined Thermoses or glass bottles, pick those with protective sleeve. These bottles should be used carefully to avoid breakage.

—KG, GMA News

Tags: lead, toxicsubstances, toxic, ecowastecoalition, schoolsupplies