Canada May Declare BPA Dangerous to Human Health

Canada may fire a great big salvo at the plastics industry by declaring Bisphenol-A a toxic chemical, reports The New York Times. BPA, as the chemical is known, is commonly “used in plastics for baby bottles, beverage and food containers as well as linings in food cans.”

Health Canada is expected to make a decision whether to declare the chemical a threat to human health sometime between now and late May. Canada would be the first nation to rule again BPA.

Some parents in the United States already have tossed suspect bottles in favor of aluminum or stainless steel versions. (We’re working on it.) Experts don’t seem to debate whether the chemical gets into our bodies. Writes the National Geographic Green Guide:

Plastic water and baby bottles, food and beverage can linings and dental sealants are the most commonly encountered uses of this chemical. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stay put. BPA has been found to leach from bottles into babies’ milk or formula; it migrates from can liners into foods and soda and from epoxy resin-lined vats into wine; and it is found in the mouths of people who’ve recently had their teeth sealed. Ninety-five percent of Americans were found to have the chemical in their urine in a 2004 biomonitoring study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Instead, experts argue whether BPA, a known endocrine disrupter, causes any health threats at low levels. Until recently, the scientific evidence seems to have favored those who say BPA is safe.

But a new U.S. study warns the chemical may be linked to breast cancer, prostrate cancer, early puberty in girls and hyperactivity, reports The Washington Post:

“This is breaking new scientific ground,” said Anila Jacob, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit public health group. “It says that at very low doses, similar to what people are exposed to now, BPA poses a risk of adverse health conditions.”

Critics of the study still warn that more research is needed:

“(The study) found no serious or high level concerns for human health,” Steven G. Hentges, executive director of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group at the American Chemistry Council, tells the Post “More research is always considered valuable.”

Why chemicals are considered innocent until proven guilty is beyond me, especially when you consider the stakes. Infants, who are the most susceptible to the chemical, which mimics estrogen, wind up consuming the chemical through bottle feeding and mothers’ breast milk. Regardless, I do not want my children consuming chemicals with the potential to mess around with their biology.

My prediction: With Canada about to pull the trigger on declaring BPA unhealthful, it’s only a matter of time before the chemical is banned altogether in many Western countries.

Additional

• Plastics with BPA: Recycling #7
• Plastics without BPA: Recycling #1, 2, 4
• Note: Metal bottles lined with plastic often contain BPA.

Comments

[buzzbishop]

Thanks for spreading the word. I've been writing about it all week as well. It's made my wife and I ABSOLUTELY SICK to think what we've been doing to our son.

The worst part? These are BABY manufacturers acting like big tobacco.

DISGUSTING.

http://www.buzzbishop.com/blog/2008/04/17/baby-bottle-manufacturers-as-bad-as-big-tobacco/

[brettdl]

Yes.