In their glory days, Nalgene water bottles dominated the public’s hearts. Bottles of every color could be seen tucked tenderly in the arms of athletes and professors. Not too long ago, people started trading in their transparent H2O tubes for aluminum and stainless steel bottles from Sigg and Klean Kanteen.

The switch was a result of accusations that the sometimes lifesaving plastic vessels had more than water swishing around in them – that harmful contaminants may be mingling in your water as well, thanks to the bisphenol A (BPA) that lurks in many plastic products.

After polling a group of UA students, eight out of 10 had heard and believed to some extent that toxins leak from plastic bottles into the water they contain. The debate comes down to whether or not the BPA-containing water bottles are really harmful.

“”A large body of available evidence indicates that currently-marketed food contact materials containing BPA are safe, and that the exposure to BPA from food contact materials, including exposures for infants and children, are below the levels that may cause health effects,”” Dr. Norris Alderson, associate commissioner for science at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said in a statement before the House Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance and Automotive Safety, the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the U.S. Senate.

The good news for the average Joe, Jane and Paul on campus: You’re home-free and can keep that nifty Nalgene by your side. The bad news: Mr. and Mrs. Bun-in-the-oven may not have the same options.

“”There’s very little research into the (different) kinds of exposure during pregnancy,”” said Dee Quinn, senior genetic counselor at the UA pregnancy risk line. “”(But) if people have the option to use BPA-free products, then great!””