A recent study has reportedly claimed that human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) greatly exceeds the daily threshold set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which specifies the upper limit of BPA intake at 50 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. Julia Taylor, et al., “Similarity of Bisphenol A Pharmacokinetics in Rhesus Monkey and Mice: Relevance for Human Exposure,” Environmental Health Perspectives, September 2010. According to media sources, the study pegged human BPA exposure at more than eight times this threshold and speculated that exposure occurs “via multiple routes.” The study also allegedly suggested that mice, monkeys and humans all process and excrete BPA at similar rates. The lead author reported that blood samples taken from both mice and rhesus monkeys contained “biologically active” amounts of BPA, raising questions about whether the liver effectively expels the substance or allows it to enter the bloodstream, where it could conceivably mimic estrogen and…
Tag Archives BPA
Where science has left a void, politics and marketing have rushed in,” writes Denise Grady in this New York Times article detailing the contentious scientific debate over bisphenol A (BPA) and its potential human health effects, including “cancer, obesity, infertility, and behavior problems.” Because researchers have not yet reached a consensus, the issue of BPA’s safety has become “highly partisan,” according to Grady. On the one hand, Democrats and environmental groups have urged regulators to adopt a precautionary, “better-safe than-sorry approach” similar to the one favored by the European Union. On the other hand, “Republicans, anti-regulation activists and the food-packaging and chemical industries” have insisted that BPA is harmless and “all but indispensable to keeping canned food safe.” Grady attributes much of this rancor to the challenge of reproducing and reconciling study results, which often rely on different methodologies and data sets with varying degrees of integrity. “Animal strains, doses,…
Two recent studies have linked bisphenol A (BPA) to hormonal changes in men and genetic changes in female mice. Researchers in the first instance analyzed urine samples from 715 participants ages 20 to 74 enrolled in an Italian population study, measuring average daily exposure to BPA at approximately 5 micrograms. Tamara Galloway, et al., “Daily Bisphenol A Excretions and Associations with Sex Hormone Concentrations: Results from the InCHIANTI Adult Population,” Environmental Health Perspectives, August 2010. Although these levels were in line with other surveys, the results also showed that “higher daily BPA excretion was associated with higher total testosterone concentrations in men.” According to the authors, their findings are significant “because they provide a first report in a large-scale population of associations between elevated exposure to BPA and alterations in circulating hormone levels.” In addition, a second study has reportedly found evidence that low doses of BPA altered gene expression…
Environment Canada has reportedly announced its intention to place bisphenol A (BPA) on the country’s list of toxic substances within eight to 10 weeks, thus ending a regulatory process started in April 2008 when the government first banned polycarbonate baby bottles. According to a recently released letter from Environment Minister Jim Prentice, the agency has formally rejected the American Chemistry Council’s July 15, 2009, request for a review board because the group purportedly did not supply “any new scientific data or information with respect to the nature and extent of the danger posed by bisphenol A.” Environment Canada will provide opportunities for further comment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act “following the publication of instruments for the preventive or control action of bisphenol A, such as a proposed regulation.” See Postmedia News, August 17, 2010. The news came shortly after Statistics Canada released a study examining lead and BPA concentrations…
A molecular biologist has allegedly found that waterborne chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) are a contributing factor to lobster shell disease, a bacterial infection linked to population die-offs in the Long Island Sound. Undertaken on behalf of the New England Lobster Research Initiative and presented during the 9th Annual Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium, the study reportedly suggests that alkylphenols from plastics, paint and detergents can delay new shell growth, making lobsters more susceptible to pathogens during the molting process. These substances also apparently prolong maturation in juveniles, while mothers who contract shell disease are often forced to molt midway through the reproductive cycle and thus lose their offspring. As University of Connecticut Research Professor Hans Laufer explained in an August 10, 2010, press release, “[a]lkylphenols have phenomenal juvenile hormone activity,” which affects “growth, reproduction, metamorphosis, and development.” He further noted that 90 percent of the U.S.…
New York Governor David Paterson (D) has signed legislation (S. 3296-H/A. 6919-D) that prohibits the manufacture or sale of child care products such as baby bottles and sippy cups that contain bisphenol A (BPA) and are intended for children younger than age 3. The bill, which the Senate and Assembly passed in June 2010, is expected to take effect on December 1. Several other states, including Connecticut and Wisconsin, have enacted similar measures. “This law will ensure that a potentially harmful substance is no longer allowed in products used by our smallest and most vulnerable children,” Paterson said in a statement, which also claimed that “while BPA has not been conclusively proven to harm children or adults, a growing body of science indicates that infants and young children may be vulnerable to serious development problems as a result of exposure to BPA.” See Press Release of Governor David Paterson, July…
Two recently released studies have purportedly found high concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) in the thermal paper used by many retailers to print cash register receipts. Researchers with the Warner Babcock Institute for Green Chemistry in Massachusetts tested 10 blank cash register receipts from Boston-area businesses and found some had BPA concentrations as high as 19 mg on a 12-inch long receipt. Ted Mendum, et al., “Concentration of bisphenol A in thermal paper,” Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews, July 28, 2010. They suggest that businesses avoid an potential health risks by using BPA-free receipt paper. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) also apparently studied BPA concentrations in cash register receipts, submitting 36 samples from fast food restaurants, large retailers, grocery stores, gas stations, and post offices to a lab for testing. According to EWG, 40 percent of the samples had high BPA levels, in some instances 250 to 1,000 times greater than…
Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.) recently sent a public letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), blaming her pursuit of a bisphenol A (BPA) ban for stalling the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). Feinstein has apparently sought to include “controversial language” in the bill that would prohibit BPA in food and beverage packaging. According to Dingell, “recent press accounts” have suggested that Feinstein’s stance has endangered the fate of the legislation, which would grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority to monitor the national food supply and enforce regulations. Other food safety advocates such as Safe Table Our Priority have reportedly joined Dingell in asking Feinstein to drop her agenda. Although Dingell noted the ongoing disagreement over BPA’s safety, he nevertheless urged his fellow lawmaker to negotiate with industry interests. “It would be calamitous if a bill to protect American consumers from unsafe food cannot become law this year…
As part of its ongoing campaign to persuade government authorities to prohibit the use of bisphenol A (BPA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking to force the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action on a petition the organization filed in October 2008 requesting that the agency prohibit the chemical’s use in food packaging. In re: NRDC, Inc., No. 10-1142 (D.C. Cir., filed June 29, 2010). One year ago, NRDC also submitted a petition to California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, requesting that BPA be added to list of chemicals “known to the state to cause reproductive toxicity” under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (also known as Prop. 65). In its lawsuit, NRDC notes that more than 600 days have passed since its FDA petition was filed, and the NRDC reiterates…
Several environmental, health and women’s organizations have called on the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to consider “all relevant studies” on bisphenol A (BPA) as the safety watchdog prepares to present its opinion on the chemical next month. Signed by approximately 20 scientific experts and 40 non-governmental organizations, the June 23, 2010, letter states that “any objective and comprehensive review of the scientific literature will lead to the conclusion that action is necessary to reduce the levels of BPA exposure, particularly in groups at highest risk, namely young infants and pregnant mothers.” Drafted by Breast Cancer UK and University of Missouri-Columbia Biological Sciences Professor Frederick vom Saal, the letter claims that EFSA relied on a “few flawed studies” to declare BPA safe in prior risk assessments. “Many scientific studies are now calling into question the safety of BPA,” maintains the letter, which cites a body of recent research that includes bio-monitoring…
