Reducing chemical leaching in your plastic products
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 10:58AM How stuff works has some tips for reducing the chemical leaching in your plastic products. The solution pre-leach.
First, use as little plastic as possible in food or drink contact applications, and keep plastic toys out of reach of babies and toddlers that are still exploring the world with their mouths.
Second, for some for the applications where you really cannot live without plastics -- and there may be many of these (think baby bottles, sippy cups, etc.) -- only use reusable plastics. Of course, buy BPA-free, even certified free of estrogenic activity if that takes off. Then, actively leach your plastics before the first use by soaking them in a solution of saltwater, followed by letting them stand with some alcohol in them. Wash well with mild (non-antibacterial) soap, and rinse well before use.
Finally, avoid the stressors mentioned above by hand washing at moderate temperatures, never microwaving plastics, and keeping plastics out of direct sunlight.
If you follow these steps, any chemicals that might leach from these items will leach, after which the exposures will drop off. In this way, you can find a balance in which you can enjoy the most important benefits of the modern conveniences of plastics while keeping your child's exposures as low as possible.