The Dangers of BPA: What You Need To Know

Morgan is Bridgette Repenning’s first child. At only 8 months old Bridgette says she is very concerned about her daughter’s development.  That’s why she says she was shocked to find out the plastics she was using at home could be hurting her child.

Repenning says,  “I called my pediatrician right away and they alarmed me to go and get the BPA free bottles.“

She’s talking about Bisphenol-A or as most people call it, BPA.  A compound used to make rigid plastics.  You can find it in everything from baby bottles to cars to canned foods.

She says, “As a mom I would be scared you know later on what’s going to happen to my child.“

BPA has not been tested on humans and the food and drug administration has not issued any warning about it.  However, Canada is considering outlawing products with BPA and major American companies are taking note as well.

    Toys “R” Us sent us this statement.

“In light of growing consumer concerns on this topic, the company has been working with manufacturers to phase out all baby bottles and other baby feeding products containing BPA in its Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores nationwide.“

The company will also allow parents to exchange any bottle or cup bought there for a BPA free one.
So we went to a local environmental toxicologist to find out if you should be concerned. She says yes.

Dr. Cindy Lee with Clemson University says,  “It is showing up in many situations in people in their blood and urine.  Animal tests, more than 700 studies, show that at very low concentrations there are things like increased prostate cancer, increased rates of breast cancer, type II diabetes, obesity are showing up in these animal studies.“

According to Dr. Lee, we are getting most of our BPA exposure through canned goods which make up 17% of Americans diets.
    Notice the white coating on the inside of canned food, that white coating is made of BPA.

Dr. Lee says, “It is to prevent corrosion, bacterial contamination.“ 
We also get it in our system by storing and heating food in certain plastic containers.

Dr. Lee says, “When they manufacture there’s little bits of that molecule that didn’t form in the plastic so it is going to leach in right away and as the plastic breaks down as it ages.“
“I would recommend not using it in the microwave and not putting it through the dishwasher.“

That’s is a big concern for parents like Bridgette.

Repenning says, “You think the things are safe and then you hear that there’s chemicals in these bottles that can harm your child and it’s a real scare.“

According to Dr. Lee, we consume a very small amount of BPA each day.  Much less than the amounts thought to be dangerous.

Dr. Lee says, “We are getting very very small doses every day now the questions is that is up for debate is are those small doses worrisome? Do we need to be concerned about that and some of the evidence is yes we do need to be concerned about it.“

Here’s the latest statement from the FDA on the subject.

“We believe there is a large body of evidence that indicates that FDA-regulated products containing BPA currently on the market are safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects.  However, we will continue to consider new research and information as they become available.“

Since there is no ruling on whether BPA in these plastics or canned goods should be banned, it is up to you the consumer to decide whether it is safe for your family.
So how do you know if your products at home have BPA in them? Since, we can’t test everything in a lab Dr. Lee says the best way to tell is by squeezing it.  If the plastic is pliable it probably doesn’t have BPA.  If its hard you need to get rid of it.
You can also look for the seven on the bottom of your containers or do like bridgette and buy products labeled BPA free.
Repenning says,  “I go through my Tupperware and I am like what can I throw away today.“
She says when it comes to the health of her family, she’s not willing to take anymore chances and wait for more testing. 
The FDA has decided to review its stance on BPA after consumer’s became upset with their ruling despite the finding by scientists. As of now, they have not changed their policy.  We will continue to follow this story and let you know when the agency releases a statement after this review.
If you would like more information on how to tell if BPA is in your plastic containers click on this link.

Decoding Plastics:
To avoid BPA, do not use plastics that have recycle number of 3 or 7.
Decoding Plastic Codes
Prepared by William M. Eberle, Extension Specialist, Land Resources
Have you been wondering about the numbers that appear on the bottom of products you buy that are packaged in plastic containers? The numbers are the result of the plastic industry’s effort to make the identification and separating of plastics easier for consumers and recyclers. Most uses of recycled plastics do not allow mixing of the various types.
The numbers, which are enclosed by three solid arrows that form a triangle, indicate the type of plastic used to make the container. The seven types of plastics are described below.
1 = PET or PETE = Polyethylene Teraphthalate
Common uses: soft drink bottles, some fruit juices, alcohol beverage bottles.
2 = HDPE = High density polyethylene
Common uses: (clear HDPE) milk jugs, distilled water, large vinegar bottles, grocery bags; (colored HDPE) liquid laundry and dish detergent, fabric softener, motor oil, antifreeze, bleach and lotion.
3 = V = Vinyl/Polyvinyl Chloride
Common uses: vegetable oil bottles, mouthwash, salad dressings.
4 = LDPE = Low density polyethylene
Common uses: bags for dry cleaning, bread, produce and trash and for food storage containers.
5 = PP = Polypropylene
Common uses: battery cases, dairy tubs, cereal box liners.
6 = PS = Polystyrene
Common uses: yogurt cups, clear carryout containers, vitamin bottles, fast food, spoons, knives and forks, hot cups, meat and produce trays, egg cartons, clamshell carryout food containers.
7 = Other types of plastics
Plastics labeled with a seven (7) are made from a type other than the six most common types listed above or they can be made from multiple layers of different types of plastics.
Common uses: squeezable ketchup bottles, most chip snack bags, juice boxes (individual servings).
While the coding system makes it easier to sort the different types of plastics for recycling, most communities that accept plastics in their recycling program collect only PETE (1) in the form of plastic soda bottles and HDPE (2) in the form of milk jugs.
From http://www.healthgoods.com

Detailed description of BPA:
Polycarbonate plastic is a lightweight, high-performance plastic that possesses a unique balance of toughness, dimensional stability, optical clarity, high heat resistance and excellent electrical resistance. Because of these attributes, polycarbonate is used in a wide variety of common products including digital media (e.g. CDs, DVDs), electronic equipment, automobiles, construction glazing, sports safety equipment and medical devices. The durability, shatter-resistance and heat-resistance of polycarbonate also make it an ideal choice for tableware as well as reusable bottles and food storage containers that can be conveniently used in the refrigerator and microwave (APME).
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a key building block of polycarbonate plastic. In recent years a number of researchers from government agencies, academia and industry worldwide have studied the potential for low levels of BPA to migrate from polycarbonate products into foods and beverages. These studies consistently show that the potential migration of BPA into food is extremely low, generally less than 5 parts per billion, under conditions typical for uses of polycarbonate products.
Using these results, the estimated dietary intake of BPA from polycarbonate is less than 0.0000125 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day. This level is more than 4000 times lower than the maximum acceptable or “reference” dose for BPA of 0.05 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Stated another way, an average adult consumer would have to ingest more than 600 kilograms (about 1,300 pounds) of food and beverages in contact with polycarbonate every day for an entire lifetime to exceed the level of BPA that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set as safe.
The European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) has also recently confirmed the safety of polycarbonate plastic products for contact with foods and beverages. The SCF estimated total dietary intake of BPA from all food contact sources, including polycarbonate plastic products and epoxy resin coatings, to be in the range of 0.00048 to 0.0016 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day, which is below the Tolerable Daily Intake set by the SCF of 0.01 milligrams per kilogram body weight per day.
The study data and analyses show that potential human exposure to BPA from polycarbonate products in contact with foods and beverages is very low and poses no known risk to human health. The use of polycarbonate plastic for food contact applications continues to be recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the Japan Ministry for Health and Welfare and other regulatory authorities worldwide.
From the Web site of the Polycarbonate/BPA Global Group, organized regionally by the American Chemistry Council, PlasticsEurope, and the Japan Chemical Industry Association.

U.S. FDA Statement on Bisphenol-A:
During the week of April 14, 2008, upon the request of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, FDA formed an agency-wide BPA (Bisphenol A) task force to facilitate cross-agency review of current research and new information on BPA for all FDA regulated products. As a result of this review, the task force will make recommendations to the Commissioner regarding next steps.
As part of the evaluation, the FDA Task Force is reviewing the concerns presented in the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Draft Brief published on April 14, 2008 by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. We also are reviewing the concerns presented in the Canadian draft risk assessment released in April 2008 and are coordinating closely with Health Canada and the Canadian Ministry of the Environment and Minister of Health.
FDA has been reviewing the emerging literature on BPA on a continuous basis.  For example, FDA has recently completed a review of the available biological fate data and two recently completed rodent multigeneration reproductive studies; these studies did not indicate a safety concern for BPA at current exposure levels.  In addition, FDA is conducting a review of the data on neural and behavioral effects of BPA exposure. 
Based on our ongoing review, we believe there is a large body of evidence that indicates that FDA-regulated products containing BPA currently on the market are safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects.  However, we will continue to consider new research and information as they become available.
This position is consistent with two risk assessments for BPA conducted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food and the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.  Each of these documents considered the question of a possible low-dose effect and concluded that no current health risk exists for BPA at the current exposure level.
At this time, FDA is not recommending that anyone discontinue using products that contain BPA while we continue our risk assessment process. However, concerned consumers should know that several alternatives to polycarbonate baby bottles exist, including glass baby bottles.

from the FDA

More links:
EPA http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0356.htm”>Assessment of Bisphenol-A use
Read the National Institute Of Environmental Health Sciences http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/media/questions/sya-bpa.cfm“>report on BPA