Sometimes you hear that leaving water bottles in the sun is not healthy and that the water in the bottle is then contaminated with some substance. Can you tell me whether washing plastic (white or transparent) containers or bottles in the dishwasher, which also almost reaches the boiling point, is also unhealthy.
IY Celikkolo
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
This story is probably about polycarbonate. This is a strong and durable type of plastic that is used in products such as computers, luminous advertising signs, CDs, but also plastic cups, plates and bottles.
One point of contention is that polycarbonate, when heated strongly and exposed to alkaline substances such as bleach, but dishwasher suds are to some extent similar in effect, would release the substance bisphenol A in small amounts. Bisphenol A is said to mimic the action of sex hormones.
After exposure of pregnant rats, the female pups would have developed precancerous lesions in the milk ducts of the breast tissue. Nervous system abnormalities and behavioral problems would also have been identified.
Obviously, these are much higher concentrations than you are exposed to when you put a plastic bottle or cup in the dishwasher. After much research and meetings, an American ‘expert panel’ has decided that polycarbonate would pose no health risk, at least for adult people. Nevertheless, there is some debate about it.
For now, I don’t think it’s anything to panic about. But the daily use of polycarbonate dishes that you wash in the dishwasher, I personally think; if you don’t have to…
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