Bisphenol A is more common in the environment than original thought

by EnvironmentalHealthToday | May 12, 2008 at 05:40 pm
509 views | 10 Recommendations | 4 comments

Videos

Chemical Threat in Plastics?

see larger video

sourced by EnvironmentalHealthToday

Chemical Threat in Plastics?

Photos

BR2008-01-12-11-04-48-285

BR2008-01-12-11-04-48-285

see larger image

uploaded by blowski

The debate continues regarding Bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic bottles and other products. Concerns surface that it's not just the plastic baby bottles, but other products as well, including dental sealants, wildlife, fish, among others. The variety of products is broad, and seems to be ever expanding. Sorption into marine sediments potentially gives the BPA additional pathways for human exposure (Xu, Wang & Li, 2008).

In many countries plastic baby bottles, and other containers made using BPA have been banned or market forces have removed these products from shelves. However, that has not yet occurred in the United States. Some have raised concerns that manufacturers in other countries with large inventories of bottles may dump their products in the United States. But public opinion could quickly change that opportunity.

The issue also seems to be related to a broader debate involving policy as set in the United States, Canada, and several other countries. Canada has taken steps to ban polycarbonate infant bottles, which is the most common form of a baby bottle, however, the entire issue of public health standards for endocrine-disrupting chemicals needs to be re-examined.

On 7 May, the Collaborative on Health and the Environment convened a meeting, titled "Sick Plastic, Sick People? The Science and Policy of Bisphenol A," where several scientists and policy makers continued with discussions on Bisphenol A. Background information, an audio (MP3 file) of the meeting, and a blog with questions and comments are available.

The recent firestorm of controversy over the safety of BPA, a plastics hardener used in many products, including baby bottles and dental sealant, has prompted critical examination of the process by which chemicals are deemed safe for human use. In many ways, the BPA debate is emblematic of a larger struggle over whether a precautionary or a proof-of-harm approach to chemical regulatory policy will prevail in the United States and abroad. This call featured scientists, advocates and policy makers who have been on the front lines of this important and fascinating issue.

Recent articles in NowPublic include:
Bisphenol A also lurks in teeth
Plastics with bishpenol A shelved
Health Canada: Bisphenol A is Dangerous
Growing Concern about BPA in Baby Bottles
Glass baby bottles make a comeback

EnvironmentalHealthToday
________________________________

Xu, X., Wang, Y., & Li, X. (2008). Sorption behavior of bisphenol A on marine sediments. Journal of Environmental Science & Health, Part A: Toxic/Hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, 43(3), 239-246.


recommend This comment thread is now closed
Jarrett Martineau
Jarrett Martineau
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 17:42 on May 12th, 2008

EnvironmentalHealthToday, thanks for this post and for linking to other NowPublic coverage on the issue. Good stuff.

0
thesoftlanding

Taking small steps to avoid BPA is easy at TheSoftLanding.com.

thesoftlanding has contributed a photo to this story.

0
beefreed

The BPA-free Titan water bottle is available for pre-orders on www.titanwaterbottle.com.

The Titan has the following patent pending features:
Built-in carabiner clip
1 handed, 1 motion operation
Spill-proof 'chuggability'
Standard sized 63mm neck.

beefreed has contributed a photo to this story.

0
beefreed

Great story!


Links to BPA-related articles:


http://hubpages.com/hub/Bisphenol-A-in-Plastic-Bottles-Play-It-Safe-with-Alternatives


http://www.squidoo.com/bisphenol-A


Can't be too careful!

This story was created over 3 months ago, the comment thread is now closed.

What is NowPublic?

NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.

Find out more

Crowd Power

Jarrett Martineau
First Flagged at 5:42 PM, May 12, 2008 by Jarrett Martineau
These members have powered this story:

Most Recommended Stories in Health

 

closeSign in to NowPublic

is reporting from