Chemical Used In Plastic Bottles And Containers Potentially Hazardous To Health

BRUSSELS – European experts have announced that a chemical used in a wide range of plastics that come into contact with food, drinks, toys and cosmetics is “a substance of very high concern.”

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been widely linked to cancer, birth defects and male infertility among other disorders.

curacaochronicle.com/health/chemical-used-in-plastic-bottles-and-containers-potentially-hazardous-to-health/





It is used in soup cans, vegetable cans, plastic storage containers and numerous other products and leeches into any food it comes in contact with.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an organic synthetic compound belonging to the group of diphenylmethane derivatives and bisphenols, with two hydroxyphenyl groups. It is a colorless solid that is soluble in organic solvents, but poorly soluble in water. It has been in commercial use since 1957.

BPA is a xenoestrogen, exhibiting estrogen-mimicking, hormone-like properties that raise concern about its suitability in some consumer products and food containers. Since 2008, several governments have investigated its safety, which prompted some retailers to withdraw polycarbonate products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ended its authorization of the use of BPA in baby bottles and infant formula packaging, based on market abandonment, not safety. The European Union and Canada have banned BPA use in baby bottles.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration used to say that BPA was safe. But in 2010 the agency altered its position. The FDA maintains that studies using standardized toxicity tests have shown BPA to be safe at the current low levels of human exposure. But based on other evidence — largely from animal studies — the FDA expressed “some concern” about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior, and prostate glands in fetuses, infants, and young children.

www.webmd.com/children/bpa#1

BUT THEY STILL HAVEN’T BANNED ITS’ USE.



Bisphenol A linked to diabetes, heart disease in humans

People exposed to higher levels of a chemical in plastic food and beverage containers are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and diabetes, according to a new scientific study published today.

The research – the first large-scale study of bisphenol A in human beings – adds to evidence from animal tests that the compound may be contributing to an array of diseases and other health problems.

With about two million tons used worldwide each year, BPA is one of the highest-volume synthetic chemicals in the world, and it is found in the bodies of more than 90% of Americans. Traces of it leach from containers made of polycarbonate, which is a hard, clear plastic, and the epoxy linings of canned foods and beverages.

www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/bisphenol-a-linked-to-diabetes-heart-disease-in-humans

Early-life BPA exposure reprograms gene expression linked to fatty liver disease

Exposure during infancy to the common plasticizer bisphenol A (BPA) “hijacks” and reprograms genes in the liver of newborn rats, leading to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adulthood. A new study has found how this process occurs, and researchers will present the results Saturday at ENDO 2017, the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170402111308.htm

From 2010 and yet, it’s STILL being used:

Bisphenol A link to heart disease confirmed

www.nature.com/news/2010/100113/full/news.2010.7.html

From 2007

BISPHENOL A – TOXIC PLASTICS CHEMICAL IN CANNED FOOD: BPA AND HUMAN DISEASES ON THE RISE

A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control tested a demographically diverse group of almost 400 Americans for evidence of exposure to BPA and found that 95% of study participants had the chemical in their urine (Calafate 2005; Wolff 2007). BPA has been linked to a variety of health outcomes which are prevalent and in many cases increasing in the United States and responsible for a major toll on our collective health. These include breast and prostate cancer, and infertility (Maffini 2006).

www.ewg.org/research/bisphenol/bpa-and-human-diseases-rise#.WYy49VWGOCg

The Potential Roles of Bisphenol A (BPA) Pathogenesis in Autoimmunity

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a monomer found in commonly used consumer plastic goods. Although much attention in recent years has been placed on BPA’s impact as an endocrine disruptor, it also appears to activate many immune pathways involved in both autoimmune disease development and autoimmune reactivity provocation.

www.hindawi.com/journals/ad/2014/743616/

Frog Scientist: Dr. Tyrone Hayes And Atrazine

In my post Rachel Carson’s Legacy, I wrote about widely-used chemicals called endocrine disruptors that are causing deformities in fish and frogs, and are linked to an increase in genital deformities in newborn baby boys.

When reading about endocrine disruptors, I keep coming across the work of Dr. Tyrone Hayes, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, at the University of California–Berkeley. He has studied the effects on frogs of an agricultural pesticide called Atrazine. Hayes found that these chemicals, even at very low levels, were causing male frogs in the wild to develop eggs in their testes (!).

frogsaregreen.org/frog-scientist-dr-tyrone-hayes-and-atrazine/

h/t Jazzy