plastics in humidifier and tubing

I am new to this forum but have been a CPAP user for 4 years. I have a Remstar Plus and an Aeiomed Headrest-nasal pillow system(which works great for me-no strap marks and I can sleep on my stomach!)
My concern is the kind of plastic used in the humidifier tanks we use-sure looks like lexon-the kind used in fancy water bottles that contain Bis-phenol A-the bad stuff. I contacted Respironics and they sent a corporate reply that they are researching this. Well, it should be easy to ask the supplier of tanks what kind of plastic they use. And there is no recycle symbol on them. This is a valid concern as we are breathing heated moist air which will leach out chemicals from said plastic, which is why they are not good for water bottles!
I also wonder about the flexible tubing. One would assume that care would be taken to use safe plastics; on the other hand, sometimes safety is the last considered.
Perhaps one of you tech or science people in the field know or can find the answer. I mentioned this to the CPAP .com people but have heard nothing....
Sara C.

Sara, I suspect that cpap.com is as much in the dark as you are and I suspect that they got the same answer from Respirionics that you got. I don't know for sure but I was under the impression that if it was the type of plastic that was used in water bottles it had to have a mark telling you it was that type of plastic. Since none of the plastic chambers I have looked at had any type of identification mark I would think this is not a problem. JMHO! If you get an answer from Respirionics please post it I am sure we would like to hear what they have to say.

Jerry

As you may know, Respironics' home base is near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I live in southcentral PA and work at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg in an agency (NONpartisan and NOT involved in politics per se, thank goodness) that prepares and publishes legislation for our General Assembly and regulations for our State agencies. In a prior assignment here, my work required daily contact with many House and Senate staff people, both here and in their district offices. I'm waiting for a callback from a friend of mine in the western part of the state.

It isn't much, but this is what I have so far:

1. Don't bother to call Respironics. After I was transferred to Hither and Yon, a receptionist read a statement to me that basically said their water chambers don't pose any increased risk to the health of their customers. When I repeated my original question ("I'm trying to find who manufactures your water chambers and if the chambers' materials include BPA"), she connected me somewhere else (I don't blame her; receptionists shouldn't have to answer such questions), but the voice mail box is full. I'm NOT even HINTING that there's anything "funny" going on. I just expect with this BPA awareness, they're being swamped with calls.

2. On my journey to that voice mail box, I was told by one person that Respironics has a separate subcontractor for manufacturing the water chambers and by another that Respironics manufactures them.

I'm working on finding out who actually manufactures them, why there's no recycling symbol and if I can get a materials list. I don't know how soon, but I'll post back here when I know more.

Marsha

SaraCarr, Thank you looking into this. Here is a link to BPA related article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/busin ... f=americas

I think BPA is mostly in hardplastics, so tubing may not be a problem. But we will find out more about this with all the sleuths in this forum!! If Respironics is not giving a ready 'there is absolutely no bpa' answer, then I think it is highly likely the chamber has bpa, IMO. Does anybody here knows FDA detailed approval describes the material?

I am very interested in the outcome of your research regarding plastic tubing and the plastic mask etc that we use with the Respironics' CPAC machine - I'll keep an eye out for your replys
thankx for your research

Teri L

Why don't you go to the Search function (standard or Advanced) and put in the word "Bisphenol" (the correct spelling) and see how many posts/threads you get.......a bunch! This stupid topic comes up periodically and all too frequently.


Den

It hard to get answers from China, They are busy doing the Games. The odd's are that the Family that makes the product doesn't know anything about plastic except how to mold it. A product that has a biodegradable life spand of 20,000 years probably isn't going to kill me much faster that anything else in the world.

I wouldn't use it in the microwave to boil tea, but at 135 degrees max, I don't think it's a problem, we probably get more toxins from squeezing our Charmin. As far as the people drinking the designer water, the faster they die off the smarter the gene pool gets. Jim

Wulfman said:

Why don't you go to the Search function (standard or Advanced) and put in the word "Bisphenol" (the correct spelling) and see how many posts/threads you get.......a bunch!

Huh. Eighteen, to be exact. One of them was even posted since I joined, but it was that gaggy thread about neti pots, and I missed the thing about BPA. Proof positive that we newbies should sit back and just listen for at least, oh, I don't know, six months.

I sit admonished and corrected.

Marsha

marshaeb wrote:Wulfman said:

Why don't you go to the Search function (standard or Advanced) and put in the word "Bisphenol" (the correct spelling) and see how many posts/threads you get.......a bunch!

Huh. Eighteen, to be exact. One of them was even posted since I joined, but it was that gaggy thread about neti pots, and I missed the thing about BPA. Proof positive that we newbies should sit back and just listen for at least, oh, I don't know, six months.

I sit admonished and corrected.

Marsha

Hi Marsha.

Is that all there was? I did a quick search in the Advanced search and came up with what seemed to be quite few. (Glad to see they got the Search function fixed again.)

Just goes to show that there aren't that many "new" topics that come up here. I also remembered being involved in one of the discussions about BPA.

Take care,

Den

Hi, Den.

Is that all there was? I did a quick search in the Advanced search and came up with what seemed to be quite few. (Glad to see they got the Search function fixed again.)

And now there are 20 (yours and mine). I'm not going to say the B word again.

I wouldn't count on that thing about my shutting up for six months, either. I might implode. In fact, I'm working on a reply to the one about defending APAP to your doc. It's so refreshing to have found this site that's almost 100% full of people who just accept... people, newbies (which is not to imply that newbies aren't people), grizzled oldtimers (them, either), opposing ideas, goofy ideas -- as Chris Ledoux said, "the whole enchilada."

Marsha

marshaeb wrote:as Chris Ledoux said, "the whole enchilada."

There's food? Why didn't anyone tell me?

Just ran across this and it seems to address this issue, if ytou beleive the govt.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26223328

Jerry

SaraCarr wrote:I am new to this forum but have been a CPAP user for 4 years. I have a Remstar Plus and an Aeiomed Headrest-nasal pillow system(which works great for me-no strap marks and I can sleep on my stomach!)
My concern is the kind of plastic used in the humidifier tanks we use-sure looks like lexon-the kind used in fancy water bottles that contain Bis-phenol A-the bad stuff. I contacted Respironics and they sent a corporate reply that they are researching this. Well, it should be easy to ask the supplier of tanks what kind of plastic they use. And there is no recycle symbol on them. This is a valid concern as we are breathing heated moist air which will leach out chemicals from said plastic, which is why they are not good for water bottles!
I also wonder about the flexible tubing. One would assume that care would be taken to use safe plastics; on the other hand, sometimes safety is the last considered.
Perhaps one of you tech or science people in the field know or can find the answer. I mentioned this to the CPAP .com people but have heard nothing....
Sara C.

We've had some discussion around the BPA issue. Since the water chambers are heated, I feel it's likely that the BPA could leech. However if you ask a manufacturer of water bottles, they say it takes high temp over time to leech any levels that could be harmful. But of course they'd say that. Respironics just remade their chamber for my M series and the plastic is definitely different. It appears harder and more translucent. I own a Vita Mix and they went to Eastman plastic which has less leeching - the M series new chamber looks like the Eastman plastic. Hummmm, maybe Respironics are reducing their liability.

Also, I have to say that the new chamber also has a redesign with less likely spill over of water that could damage the unit and a much better latching system.

FDA Draft Report: No Risk From BPA In Food Containers

Sure glad I didn't toss all my water bottles:

http://tinyurl.com/5gljru

Snoredog wrote:FDA Draft Report: No Risk From BPA In Food Containers

Sure glad I didn't toss all my water bottles:

http://tinyurl.com/5gljru

Isn't the FDA the same people that allowed the faulty defibulator leads, to be installed in me? I wish they had installed a plastic water bottle in me, instead. Jim