BPA: Bad Parents Anonymous?

Not exactly. It actually stands for Bisphenol A (BPA). Although, I felt like I should join Bad Parents Anonymous once I researched what BPA is and the potential adverse affects it could have on my family's health.

According to Environmental Defense BPA is a synthetic chemical compound used in a wide range of consumer products and is classed by the Government of Canada as a hormone disruptor. BPA is typically found in everyday products such as food cans, plastic water containers, baby bottles, dental sealants and tooth coatings. Science Daily released an article about a study done by the University of Cincinnati (UC) Scientists on plastic bottles that contained BPA. What the study concluded is that exposure to BPA in polycarbonate is not determined by the age of the contain, but rather the liquid's temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released.

Basically, what this study discovered is that BPA can leach into liquids when boiling water was added to polycarbonate containers. The article went on to say that this chemical has been shown to affect reproduction and brain development in animal studies.

Scott Belcher, PhD from the UC was quoted saying, "There is a large body of scientific evidence demonstrating the harmful effects of very small amounts of BPA in laboratory animal studies, but little clinical evidence related to humans." Belcher went on to say, "There is a very strong suspicion in the scientific community, however, that this chemical has harmful effects on humans."

There is a lot of controversy regarding BPA and it's affects on humans. I checked the National Institute of Evironmental Health Science (NIEHS) website. In June 1998 the National Toxicologoy Program (an interagency of he NIEHS) established the NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) to study the effectsof BPA for several reasons. Two of the main reasons for the study are BPA's widespread exposure on the general population and because of evidence of reproduction toxicity in laboratory animal studies.

A 12 member panel independent of the goverment reviewed the findings in November 2007. Some of the conclusions were:

1) there are some concerns that exposure to Bisphenol A in utero causes neural and behavioral effects. However, they also concluded that there are negligible concerns that exposure to Bisphenol A in utero produces birth defects and malformations.

2) there are some concerns that exposure to Bisphenol A causes neural and behavioral effects in enfants.

3) there are negligible concerns for adverse reproductive effects following exposures in the general population to Bisphenol A.

The panels stated there are adverse affects to humans but further research is necessary to determine the degree and the severity.

My thoughts are it's better to err on the side of caution than wait for additional studies to take place. It's frustrating that studies, research and investigations have been done by both the government and the private sector and still the government has not chosen to enforce precautions and warning by companies that continue to utilize this chemical. Fortunately, some companies are reeding the call to action and choosing to make products that are BPA free.

The answer to last week's poll: Which of these labels indicate that a product is truly eco-friendly?
Answer: Contains 100% post consumer waste materials. (The incorrect answers were: biodegradable, free range and recyclable)