The Dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA)

Submitted by fyl on 11 October, 2008 - 07:59.

If there is one thing Nicaragua is #1 in, it is in the percentage of things that come in some sort of plastic, or are made of some sort of plastic. As I write this, I can smell plastic burning—probably from a neighbor using plastic bags to start a fire. Thus, this article from Dr. Mercola's mailing list got my attention.

The global chemical industry annually produces about 6 billion pounds of bisphenol A (BPA), an integral component of a vast array of plastic products, generating at least $6 billion in annual sales. The value of BPA-based manufactured goods is probably incalculable. Environmental Working Group studies have found BPA in more than half the canned foods and beverages sampled from supermarkets across the U.S.

The article goes on to talk about research into the health dangers of BPA, how the chemical industry has tried to discredit research showing the dangers of BPA and, finally, links on how to find BPA-free products.

For those of us living in Nicaragua (and, well, most anywhere else) we should:

  • Try to get as close to product production as possible—that means first choice is grow it yourself, second is buy from the grower
  • Buy pre-packaged products that come in glass jars (not cans as BPA also appears in the lining of metal cans)
  • Save those glass jars to use as food containers in your home
  • Get a ceramic or stainless steel water filter system to replace plastic or verify that the plastic is BPA-free
  • Check out the links in the article and see of any of the BPA-free products are available here
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U.S.

Submitted by mjt on 13 October, 2008 - 13:07.

The article is really focused on the U.S., and the FDA does now have an inter-agency BPA task force. There is/was much more debate in other countries, though recent European and Japanese governmental conclusions were the same as this last FDA one. Not to defend BPA, but when a company offers a new BPA-free version of its old product, what are they now using instead of BPA, and is that substance tested any more and any more favorably than BPA [is there a grand mouse study on the substitute]? Switching from poly-carb to glass obviously solves the problem, but switching from a BPA-plastic to a non-BPA plastic (or aluminum bottle or plastic-lined can or whatever) may or may not really solve anything. If a BPA analysis is focused on saliva or blood, then the use of BPA in dental adhesives and sealants seems especially bad - though the ADA just recently cleared it, again.

P.S. Burning plastic and cooking -- I have no idea if a little BPA is really bad/deadly, and this is just parenthetical: a tv commercial here in Honduras advertises some kind of grill that you use with a whole chicken, and a beer or juice can [depends what flavor you want] is inserted inside the bird while it is cooked over coals. The can gets hot (is cooked too) and the liquid goes into the chicken. If the can chosen is BPA-lined, then I guess the bird gets some level of a BPA+ flavor flush, too.

BPA is terrible,

Submitted by Atento on 13 October, 2008 - 10:49.

but the real problem is the assholes we put in power that allow these chemicals and other things to put our lives in danger when we have employed them to prevent this from happening. The Surgeon General is(supposed to be)OUR employee and not the chemical company´s yes-man, yet through out recent history (60 or more years) he has approved tobacco, DDT, Dioxin, PHB and several other substances, he has not forced several chemical and other industries to clean up their toxic sites. He is the person responsible for maintaining our health by banning or approving substances determined to be bad or good for us and he has failed us miserably due to big CORPORATE money. We can only blame ourselves for letting these crimes go un-punished. We also elect the ones who appoint these people and the prosecutors who let them slide. But those crappy little tax cuts seem to blind the public to the quality of our (laugh) ¨leaders¨.

The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.- Thomas Paine

Come on now....put a few fact to work with the venom

Submitted by ATZ on 13 October, 2008 - 21:15.

I do not think that tobacco was ever "approved" by the Surgeon General. been in use a thousand of years around the world. Now, in spite of massive intervention by the Surgeon General which started many years before the notion to cut tobacco was born, it still is.

Nor did the Surgeon General approve DDT. And while DDT has some serious environmental liabilities it has saved countless lives (mostly in developing countries) from disease. hindsight on this is 20/20 but when it was discovered saving millions from typhus and malaria with what seemed to be a harmless substance was a good idea. The surgeon general had nothing to do with it. Then or now. Nor with toxic dumps.

ZZT

Agreed

Submitted by fyl on 13 October, 2008 - 12:35.

I agree there is far too much "revolving door" policy between industry and government and the regulators not regulating is certainly a problem. But, at least currently in the US there are "food grade" plastics and people are talking about them.

Here in Nicaragua, I have found it virtually impossible to even convince people that burning plastics is a bad thing. The plastic bag is king here and the idea of "food grade" and "other" just won't happen in the near future.

Thus, my concern is how to deal with this issue in Nicaragua. I think the most viable approach is "glass is better than plastic" which is always true.

Glass use had problems too

Submitted by marnica on 13 October, 2008 - 20:45.

Glass use had problems too remember. Carbonated soft drinks used to come in glass bottles till the bottles got a lot bigger and also the damage they caused when dropped and exploded. It was a weight factor and the cost of production and transport. You will now find many spirits are now bottled in plastic as well. Not FDC that would be a crime to contaminate FDC. Someone was using their head for that one.