I joined students nationwide in their fear of collapsing of dehydration in their respective college towns. Nalgene-carrying has become a trend to be reckoned with. Much to my dismay, as well as that of 75 or more percent of the collegiate and camping population, the company has decided to recall its hard plastic bottles within the next few months.

The containers are made with bishephonol A (BPA), a product which is suggested to cause “aggressive cancers,” per National Geographic Adventure blogger Steve Casimiro.

Hold up. Haven’t Nalgenes always implied an attempt to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Don’t they help to ensure drinking those 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, and then some? They were part of the whole outdoorsy-but-not image on campus. Sure, they weren’t really unbreakable (I’ve ruined 2, myself), but they seemed so… harmless. How unnerving to think that something so basic, so innocent as a water bottle, is now up there with cell phones, cigarette smoke, and artificial sweeteners as a carcinogen.

Casimiro writes:

“a study from California published in April shows that BPA directly alters genes in breast cells so that they resemble cancer cells…. Earlier this year, in the first direct test for bisphenol A migration in water bottles, University of Cincinnati scientists found that BPA leaches from polycarbonate containers at room temperature whether the bottle is old or new. More alarming, when the bottle has hot water in it, the chemical is released up to 55 times faster.”

Yikes. Not that I’ve been known to drink warm water by choice, but think about it. We’ve all been parched, we’ve all done it without a second thought. All this time I’d been worried about the quality of tap water when the bottles have been even worse?

A month ago, I received an email from one of my sorority sisters, with no direct sources quoted but warning that drinking from water bottles left in cars (where the temperature definitely is prone to rising) has been linked to breast cancer. Breast cancer survivor and musician Sheryl Crow, in her March appearance on the Ellen (DeGeneres) show, urged women everywhere to be extremely careful and avoid drinking remnants from plastic water bottles as well.

Fear not, Nalgene lovers. The company has a line of BPA-free bottles, and has the technology to continue producing them. For more information on what materials are safe and what to look for in your next water bottle, visit www.nalgenechoice.com.

Better to be safe than sorry, and you’re health is well worth the extra cash.