A California mother is suing the maker of Nalgene durable plastic water bottles, claiming that the company was aware that the bottles contained bisphenol A, or BPA, and that it downplayed the possibility that the controversial chemical could reach the bottles' contents and make customers sick. This is believed to be the first consumer class-action lawsuit filed after recent reports that the chemical might cause health problems.
Nalge Nunc International Corp claiming the company knew, but downplayed risks, that a toxic substance in its popular Nalgene plastic sports bottles could leach into the bottles' contents and sicken consumers. The case, filed on Tuesday, is believed to be the first consumer class action over the use of Bisphenol A, or BPA, in plastic sports bottles since Canada moved to ban baby bottles containing the substance and the U.S. government expressed concern over its safety last week.
Nalge Nunc, a unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, said on April 18 that it will phase out production of its Outdoor line of polycarbonate containers that include BPA over the next several months.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, accuses Nalge Nunc of continuing to assert that BPA is safe long after dozens of studies linked the substance to hormone disruptions, infertility, early puberty, and cancer. According to the lawsuit, the woman said she and her two daughters, ages 11 and 13, used Nalgene bottles.
