Good Health – Special Edition

We live in a plastic world. We wake up in the morning and brush our teeth with a plastic toothbrush and toothpaste squeezed from a plastic tube. We pour ourselves cereal from a plastic bag and milk from a plastic carton, work all day on a computer monitor and keyboard made of plastic, and return home for ­a nice dinner of chicken noodle soup from a can lined with, you guessed it: plastic. We might as well be Ken and Barbie. Did you know you may be eating and drinking BPA?

What is BPA?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic resins, epoxy resins, and other products.

How is BPA used?

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical building block that is used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastic is a lightweight, high-performance plastic that possesses a unique balance of toughness, 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), electrical and electronic equipment, automobiles, sports safety equipment, reusable food and drink containers.

BPA is everywhere…the baby bottles, food storage containers and contact lenses – even the key board I’m typing this on contains small portions of BPA.

BPA is also used in the production of epoxy resins. Epoxy resins have many uses including engineering applications such as electrical laminates for printed circuit boards, composites, paints and adhesives, as well as in a variety of protective coatings. Cured epoxy resins are inert materials used as protective liners in metal cans to maintain the quality of canned foods and beverages, and have achieved wide acceptance for use as protective coatings because of their exceptional combination of toughness, adhesion, formability, and chemical resistance.

Animal studies have been done, BPA has been linked to changes in breast tissue that predispose a person to breast cancer, increased prostate weight, decreased amounts of testicular testosterone, and increased risk of other cancers.

More research is showing that over time and high levels of BPA have found links to certain cancers, reduced fertility, birth defects and diabetes.

The FDA maintains that the use of BPA in food-containing products is SAFE.

U.S. National Institutes of Health panel declared BPA posed “negligible concern” in reproductive adults.

In October of 2008, Canada officially listed BPA as a hazardous substance and has banned the use of BPA.

Companies like Wal-Mart and Toys R Us have gone ahead and promised to phase out polycarbonate baby bottles and feeing products. Playtex and Nalgene have pledged to stop using BPA in their products.

So why is it that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying that there are some concern about the risks to humans who consume BPA?

Studies show that BPA between 2 and 20 micrograms per kilogram of body weight alter the reproductive system of male mice.  Babies fed canned formula heated in a polycarbonate bottle may consume that amount in just one day!

OK as a consumer, do we toss out all of our plastics?

I for one tossed my water bottle and bought a new one at WinCo this past weekend. Cost: $2.49 – BPA free!

From the Green Guide Institute here are some things you may want to do to avoid BPA

• Use glass baby bottles or switch to polypropylene bottles that are labeled “5″ on the bottom.
• Limit your intake of canned foods or buy from makers who don’t use BPA in the lining. (Eden Foods claims to use an alternative.)
• Buy soups and milk that are packaged in cardboard cartons that are lined with the safer materials of aluminum and polyethylene.
• Buy or can your own fruits and vegetables in glass jars.
• Try to find out if your favorite winemaker uses vats lined with epoxy resin — such wines can contain six times the BPA of canned foods

If later on it’s found that BPA is totally harmless, at least you can know you’ve done your part to help the planet!

For The Record: My husband has been telling me for years now that the baby pool we buy for our dogs in the summer, may be what’s making them sick. They really don’t swim or wade, but do use it as an oversized water bowl.  He may be right!  I’m going to check it out!