| QUESTIONS | ANSWERS |
|---|---|
| What is this chemical? | Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is an organic compound that is a building block of several important plastics and plastic additives. |
| What is its purpose? | Bisphenol A is used primarily to make plastics. Products containing bisphenol A-based plastics have been in commerce for more than 50 years.
Hard plastics are marked with the recycling number 7. Epoxy resins are used as coatings on the inside of almost all food and beverage cans. |
| Where is it found? |
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HEALTH CONCERNS Is this chemical a carcinogen? A 2008 review has concluded that perinatal exposure to low doses of BPA alters breast development and increases breast cancer risk. Another 2008 review concluded that animal experiments and epidemiological data strengthen the hypothesis that fetal exposure to xenoestrogens may be an underlying cause of the increased incidence of breast cancer observed over the last 50 years.
How can it affect me? Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, concerns about the use of bisphenol A in consumer products were regularly reported in the news media in 2008 after several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers have removed products made of it from their shelves. A 2010 report from the FDA raised further concerns regarding exposure of fetuses, infants, and young children. Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body’s own hormones and may lead to negative health effects. Early development appears to be the period of greatest sensitivity to its effects.
Regulatory bodies have determined safety levels for humans, but those safety levels are currently being questioned or under review as a result of new scientific studies.
Canada and many other European countries plan to ban plastic baby bottles made with BPA. The US is also determining whether it should do so but doubts it will completely ban bisphenol because of its widespread use.
Certain states in the US have already banned BPA in baby bottles. The latest is the state of Washington. Washington is only the second state to ban BPA in sports bottles, and the fifth state to ban the chemical in baby bottles and other children’s food and beverage containers. Maryland and Wisconsin passed bans earlier this year and Minnesota and Connecticut passed bans in 2009. Several other states, including California, Vermont, New York, and Illinois have similar bans pending.
Chemicals showing up in U.S. waterways and drinking water have been linked to deformities in fish, frogs and other wildlife. BPA leaches into the water supply when containers made with the chemical are discarded. There are serious concerns that the same chemicals that are responsible for these deformities in wildlife may also have similar effects in humans and may be the culprit for the widespread increase in human disorders such as infertility, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Studies of low dose exposure in animals has shown the following effects:
- Permanent changes to genital tract
- Changes in breast tissue that predispose cells to hormones andcarcinogens long-term adverse reproductive and carcinogenic effects
- Increased prostate weight 30%
- Lower bodyweight, increase of anogenital distance in both genders, signs ofearly puberty and longer estrus.
- Decline in testicular testosterone
- Breast cells predisposed to cancer
- Prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer
- Decreased maternal behaviors
- Reversed the normal sex differences in brain structure and behavior
- Adverse neurological effects occur in non-human primates
- Disrupts ovarian development
Are there controversial issues? 2010: The federal agency that investigates health risks is concerned that the chemical bisphenol A may harm people and is spending $20 million to study the substance, widely used in food containers. British scientists have linked BPA to heart disease, diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities. But other scientists disagree. “I don’t think the science would support the total banning of BPA at the levels it’s being used today in America,” Environmental Protection Agency member Christopher Borgert said.
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