ITB Expert Responds to Health Concerns Over Polycarbonate Water Gallons

Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Prof Johnner Sitompul, has reminded the public that to date there is no clinical evidence directly linking exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) from polycarbonate water jugs with hormonal disruption, reproductive disorders or cancer in humans. Moreover, BPOM itself has never carried out a study on the matter.

The public needs to be critical in distinguishing between BPA as a standalone compound and BPA as a constituent element of packaging. BPA as an additive in polycarbonate plastic is extremely difficult to separate from the plastic’s bonds, making migration unlikely, particularly at normal temperatures.

Polycarbonate is a heat-resistant packaging material, which is why it is used for reusable containers that are more environmentally friendly. “That research (on the dangers of PC jugs) has not been seen. What is abundant is research on the risks of BPA to infants, to glands or hormones, and to obesity — the BPA itself, not the polycarbonate,” said Johnner Sitompul in a written statement on Thursday (9 July).

The professor, who graduated from the University of Wales, explained that BPA is a forming agent that changes shape when it becomes polycarbonate. He continued that no research has proven that polycarbonate in the form of water jugs can break down back into BPA when it comes into contact with water.

He said the research that has proliferated so far has in fact focused on BPA as a compound in its own right, not on polycarbonate jugs used as drinking water containers. In fact, he added, the monomer bound within polycarbonate transforms and takes on characteristics that are far more stable.

In his view, dedicated research is needed to test whether BPA in polycarbonate can migrate into water under real-world usage conditions. According to him, the results of such research could later serve as an objective scientific reference.

Chairman of the Indonesian Association of Public Health Experts (IAKMI), Hermawan Saputra, has affirmed that the notion that early puberty is caused by drinking water from reused polycarbonate jugs is a mistaken view.