After the initial discovery of BPA in baby bottles, organizations like the Environmental Working Group (EWG) started to test common objects for the substance. Turns out, it's in more things than we ever could have imagined.
What is BPA? You hear about it all the time, and see "BPA FREE!" boasting on product stickers. Bisphenol-A is a chemical that is used in making plastics and epoxy resins stronger. It's also used in coatings and such. It is also a known endocrine disruptor, causing early puberty in mice and rats and sex changes in fish. Why do we use animal testing? If they are affected, we will ultimately be affected.
The newest discovery is fairly shocking to me: BPA has been found in relatively large quantities in and on our paper receipts. Yup! That same receipt you held with your lips as you put your money in your wallet after your most recent purchase! In one case, a McDonald's receipt from Connecticut was tested and contained 13 milligrams of BPA. That's roughly the equivalent of eating 126 cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli (one of the highest tested canned products for BPA content).
To read the full article, and get links to the offending receipt companies: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/stores-giving-out-bpa-tainted-receipts.html
What the hell is wrong with us? What good will it do if we take it out of bottles when we keep it in canned goods, and then add it to something we handle on a daily basis?
I was even more disgusted when looking for information on the chemical, I stumbled upon the Bisphenol-A website (www.bisphenol-a.org). They claim that there are no health impacts on humans. Mainly due to the fact that "Safety assessments of BPA conclude that the potential human exposure to BPA from polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins is more than 400 times lower than the safe level of BPA set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This minimal level of exposure to BPA poses no known risk to human health."
HELLO!?! First of all, the amount of polycarbonate plastics we are exposed to on a daily basis (in everything... drink containers [pop cans, cheap plastic cups], food containers [lunch containers, canned goods], MP3 players, laptops, TOYS!, sunglasses, ETC) is an insane amount. If we were only to touch one item with BPA in it everyday, maybe the total wouldn't be so bad for our health. But as with all things, it ACCUMULATES.
Are we learning nothing? We need to stop chemical companies from influencing what is allowed to be in our foods, in our homes, and on our receipts.
There is a meeting through the UN Food and Agricultural Organization coming up this October in Ottawa to discuss the safety of BPA in food packaging, and I STRONGLY encourage you to write your MP and/or Health Canada to tell them how you feel about BPA. If we step up the pressure early, something might actually get done!
The address for Health Canada's Health Products and Food Branch "Bureau of Chemical Safety":
And, while you're at it, why not annoy the buggers pushing for the continued production of over 2.8 million tons of BPA per year? Ask them why they are for the possible poisoning of our society?
"In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister and little-recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world—the very nature of its life." - Rachel Carson
interesting. i never knew these things about BPA. quite terrifying really. scary how corporations can have the 'final word' in 'how safe' something is. you hit on a great point when you say: "If we were only to touch one item with BPA in it everyday, maybe the total wouldn't be so bad for our health. But as with all things, it ACCUMULATES." too true! is there anyway we as the consumers can be more aware? is letter writing effective enough?
ReplyDelete-A
BPA, along with other xenoestrogens (hormone mimickers) are, in my opinion, one of the most pervasive and alarming chemicals we allow ourselves to be exposed to every day.
ReplyDeleteThe most disturbing thing about BPA is the lack of clear evidence for a "no observed effects level" - a toxicology term for how little you can be exposed to that will cause a discernible physiological effect. The US EPA guideline is based on studies conducted in the 1920's when the chemical was first synthesized, when it was assumed that the more you are exposed to, the greater the response should be. Since then researchers have realized that small doses have the potential to be more damaging than large.
Recent evidence suggests that xenoestrogens are potentially more toxic to the human body in continual low doses than single large doses. This is because the body knows to reject the large dose, realizing that it is a foreign substance. Small doses sneak past the bodies natural defense and blend in with the crowd, slowly elevating the level of estrogen in the blood.
We haven't seen concrete evidence of these effects in humans to date, though some studies suggest an increase in "feminization" of males, resulting in underdevelopment and fertility impairment. In nature, we've already seen the effect of xenoestrogens on fish populations right in our own backyard (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2010/07/29/calgary-fish-rivers-sex-hormones-research.html).
- Chris M
Thanks for the info, Chris!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how there are clear and present indications of the toxicity and biological effects of these types of chemicals, yet there are still nay-sayers and BPA backers (simply making a buck, I know... but still!).
Makes me grrrrrr!
For real though, write letters and emails! Everyone! The squeaky wheel and all...
For a really good look at a few of the over 187 foreign chemicals found in the average human body, check out the phenomenal - if slightly terrifying - Slow Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith, Bruce Lourie and Sarah Dopp. The only good thing about BPA is that it breaks down in the body rather quickly; in a manner of days. So as long as you do your best to reduce exposure, (no simple task, unfortunately, as any product that has 'fragrance' or 'parfum' on the label contains these nasty byphenolated bastards), you can keep levels fairly low in your system.
ReplyDeleteBut that's the problem. This stuff is EVERYWHERE, and it's in most human urine too - which means it's making it into our oceans.
Yes, the human race has invented some pretty frightening stuff in the past, but for downright horrifying, BPA's the shit. If you want a brief introduction to some of it's toxic friends found in both you and me, check out that book. And good luck consuming willy-nilly afterwards!