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Don't Drink the Water From Sports Bottle, Suit Says

A California woman has filed a class-action lawsuit over alleged health risks from Nalgene sports bottles containing the chemical bisphenol A.

Plaintiff Lani Felix-Lozano says she would not have bought the bottles or given them to her family if manufacturer Nalge Nunc International had told consumers about their potential BPA-related risks.

Some studies have linked BPA, a component of clear polycarbonate plastic, to hormone disruptions and cancer, according to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

In April Canada became the first country to find BPA unsuitable for use in baby bottles.

Two U.S. senators introduced legislation April 29 that would prohibit the use of BPA in all children's products.

Nalge Nunc announced April 18 that over the next several months it would phase out the use of BPA in its outdoor line of polycarbonate containers because of consumer complaints.

However, the company insists that the polycarbonate bottles are safe.

In the lawsuit Felix-Lozano says she was unaware that that the Nalgene bottles posed a potential health risk until a friend told her of BPA's dangers.

She accuses Nalge Nunc of omitting, withholding and suppressing information about the BPA-related risks on its labeling and in its promotional and marketing materials.

Felix-Lozano does not claim that she or her daughters were harmed by using the bottles.

The complaint alleges violations of California's consumer-protection law, fraudulent concealment and breach of implied warranty.

Felix-Lozano seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

She also wants the court to bar Nalge Nunc from further concealing the risks of its products.

The complaint estimates that the proposed class could number in the tens of thousands.

To comment, ask questions or contribute articles, contact West.Andrews.Editor@Thomson.com.

Felix-Lozano is represented by Howard Rubinstein in Aspen, Colo., and Harold Hewell in San Diego.