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SAFETY ADVISORYCUBITAINER SAFETY
Date/Time
: June 20, 2010
Purpose
: Cubitainer Safety
Narrative
: During recent fire incidents in the Southwest Area, safety concerns continue to arise regarding thesafety and quality of drinking water stored in cubitainers. The concerns stem from the safety of the water that sitsfor long periods of time and/or becomes exposed to heat with other concerns related to the sanitation of the water and cubitainers, especially when used by multiple personnel or filled from multiple water sources. Theseconcerns are associated with recent health concerns of plastic water bottles containing bisphenol-A (BPA). Therewas an initial concern that the cubitainers had an established ‘shelf life’, which has turned out not to bedetermined.Recent studies provided by Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) states that containersconstructed from a high density polyethylene (HDPE) provided no evidence of adverse health effects. Theseinclude containers such as quart canteens currently used by fire personnel and Nalgene bottles. MTDC alsostated that the manufacturer of cubitainers was contacted and stated that the plastic used has no contaminants, isFDA food and beverage grade, and does not have any "shelf-life" for water storage. They also stated that thecubitainers are sterile and ready for use as the manufacturing process and subsequent handling follow FDAguidelines for food container handling. No further sterilization is necessary. The manufacturer also provided aletter with the following statement about BPA in the plastic:
 No Bisphenol-A (BPA) is intentionally introduced or used as an additive or raw material in the manufacture of the product listed below. Although our suppliers do not analyze for substances not purposely added, it would not be expected to be found in the final product. Any presence of Bisphenol-A is purely incidental and unintentional.We would not expect the total incidental concentration of this substance to exceed 0.1% (1000 ppm).
Some personal water containers such as Camelbak-type systems are known to contain possible bisphenol-A.However, research on human health effects from bisphenol-A in polycarbonate plastics is limited. Other containers used by fire personnel such as single use water bottles are produced from polyethylene terephthalate(PET) which has been determined acceptable for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Currently all companies that produce products containing bisphenol-A have removed these products from production as of April 2008.To date, there have been no ‘safety alerts’ or ‘advisories’ posted in the Federal Wildland Fire agencies specific tocubitainer safety. Cubitainers have been used for decades by wildland firefighters with no known health hazardsand continue to be safe and efficient when used properly and in accordance to recommended guidelines.The following are recommendations to consider when using any water container for personal use and asdetermined through
21CFR129.80(b)
and the current National Mobile Food Services contract
:
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