Coatings in Beer Can Pot

Perhaps you're thinking of this thread: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=43260

I was a little paranoid when I first starting using my heiney can as a pot a few years back. I had heard about the BPA issues, but I loved the size and weight of my set-up with it, so I just read up on it some more.
From what I understand (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), the BPA is only leeched in significant amounts the first few times water is boiled in it. I boiled water in it 5 times before using, and have since boiled literally hundreds of times in it.

John's approach (cycle it a few times at homes) is what I do when repurposing lined cans after running them through the dishwasher. For repurposed HDPE containers (#2 recycling symbol), I run them through the dishwasher only.

"…the BPA is only leeched in significant amounts the first few times water is boiled in it. I boiled water in it 5 times before using,…"

That is probably an effective strategy for the concern about leaching, but overtime the liner is going to start breaking down. Once that starts happening it won't matter how much bpa is leached, you will be directly ingesting the plastic and giving your body plenty of time (in a high acid environment) to get the bpa into your system. That is why I decided to just stay away from cooking with plastic.

btw scientific research so far has concluded my reaction is overblown, but imo the way bpa is treated in the body it is an issue of long term exposure that will cause problems. I am not worried about bpa poisoning; I am concerned about subtle hormonal changes over my lifetime. Long term studies of low level exposure have not been performed.