By Heather Dunham •
August 22, 2009
SIGG bottles, long upheld as the standard by which all non-plastic drink bottles should be compared, favourite of hippies and eco-gurus, juggernaut and arguably the biggest player in the metal bottle industry, has finally fessed up.
Their “water-based epoxy liner”, long rumoured (but never confirmed) to contain BPA, indeed had BPA all along.
SIGG kept this cozy little secret by constantly releasing reassuring statements that their proprietary formula had been extensively tested and was never found to leach BPA.
The subtle truth hidden in their messages was that they never said there was no BPA in there to begin with. But now, one entire year after changing their liner to a new “EcoCare”, BPA-free formula, they are now admitting what so many have suspected all along.
An October, 2002 the EPA-funded study on the health risks from Coal Ash dumps, which showed an increased cancer risk as well as the risk of non-cancer illnesses, was never released to the public.
The predicted cancer risk increase–up to 1 in 50 more cases per site–was due to arsenic leaching into the water table from unlined waste (coal ash) ponds. Non cancer health problems, including liver and kidney damage, were also shown to be at increased risk for residents living within a few miles of the waste ponds. Additionally, neurological damage from lead leaching was also a major risk finding.
The EPA did release an edited version of the study in August of 2007, but, according to environmental groups, it omitted the risks to marine animals. Environmentalist fear that the risk may be even greater than the study predicts, due to the fact that the EPA based its findings on a smaller survey data set (of total coal ash ponds)–40% less than the Industry reported in the subsequent year. Currently, there are at least 427 documented, coal ash waste ponds in the US.
