Health & Well-Being »News & culture
What is BPA and is there a problem with polycarbonate lexan water bottles?
beingzoe about 1 year ago | 2 responses    

You are barreling down the trail or in the middle of intense workout at the gym. Sweating and quickly losing fluids you diligently take a swig from your polycarbonate lexan plastic water bottle. Then you grow two heads, your boobs increase dramatically is size (especially noticeable if you are a guy), and then you get breast cancer.

What? Okay maybe you won’t grow two heads, but according to a U.S. study from the National Toxicology Program the chemical BPA (bisphenol A) reports that exposure in rats to high levels of bisphenol A during pregnancy or nursing were more likely to die, be born smaller, suffer from other defects and developmental problems, and in some cases delay puberty. In other studies, according to Rob Waters with Bloomberg , suggest that lower doses may cause precancerous growths in prostate and breast tissue, and may alter early development of the prostate and urinary tract, and possibly trigger early puberty in females.

And since these studies came out the number of articles, warnings, and even boycotts on polycarbonate bottles are coming out in alarming numbers. TreeHugger.com released an article in the spring of 2008 entitled, Don’t Buy A Nalgene Water Bottle Until You Read This . SheKnows.com with their article, Avoid plastics to avoid BPA health hazards _ . It made headlines at the PBS Online News Hour with _Chemical Used in Household Plastics Sparks Concerns . It is even making the rounds in customer comments at places like epinions regarding Rubbermaid Stain Shield 20-Piece Food Storage Sets under a response titled Use only if you understand the hazards of BPA .

Now I’m not a scientist, nor am I even the most logical person sometimes, but as I read these articles I can’t help but noticing that not only does the National Toxicology report have no real information about the effects of human exposure but the articles own wording beyond the headline uses phrases like ‘indicates’, ‘suggests’, and even ‘may’ be harmful in a variety of ways. In fact the report itself said specifically regarding the harmful effects…

‘Though the animal research is limited and there is a lack of data on humans, the possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed,’ the National Toxicology Program report said.

I’m sorry but that is a stretch from, “the possibility that bisphenol A may alter human development cannot be dismissed,” and “STOP BUYING WATER BOTTLES OR YOU WILL DIE.”

So what is BPA (Bisphenol A)?

According to bisphenol-a.org

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

Bisphenol.org which is operated by the American Chemistry Council and are therefore not the least biased source also say in their BPA FAQ:

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most extensively tested materials in use today. BPA has been safely used in consumer products and researched and studied for over 40 years. The weight of scientific evidence clearly supports the safety of BPA and provides strong reassurance that there is no basis for human health concerns from exposure to BPA.

Safety assessments of bisphenol A (BPA) conclude that the potential human exposure to BPA from polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins is more than 400 times lower than the safe level of BPA set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This minimal level of exposure to BPA poses no known risk to human health.

The use of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins for food contact applications has been and continues to be recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, and other regulatory agencies worldwide.

So while I’m not going to simply accept theirs or the FDA’s assessment of BPA and any dangers to humans, we can at least agree what BPA is. Plastic.

What might be unhealthy about BPA?

According to the studies, BPA is reported to have an estrogen-mimicking effect that interferes with hormone levels and cell signaling systems. The theory is that long term exposure puts humans at risk for a variety of health hazards. BPA leaches from the container into the food or beverage, you ingest it, and then it pretends to be a hormone interrupting your normal body functioning. This leaching process is increased when the BPA plastic is heated or comes in contact with hot liquids.

According to Scott Belcher, PhD with Science Daily , new and used polycarbonate drinking bottles exposed to boiling hot water released BPA 55 times more rapidly. Bottles used for up to nine years released the same amount of BPA as new bottles.

The list of POTENTIAL side effects include:

• Ovarian disease
• Disrupted thyroid action
• Proliferation of human prostate cancer cells
• Early puberty in girls
• Late puberty in boys
• Altered development of prostate and urinary tract
• Behavioral problems and hyperactivity

BPA is all around us

It is everywhere, in many hard-plastic items like water and baby bottles, and even in the linings of canned goods because of how it helps prevent acidic foods from deteriorating the container. And as mentioned above BPA has been all around (and IN) us for over 40 years.

What we do know about the relationship between BPA and humans, from the National Toxicology Report is that it is in the urine of 93 percent of children under 6 years old. (Though one website I found said it was in 93 percent of ALL Americans, so who do you believe?).

It’s there, and now we have to decide what to do about it.

To be BPA-free or not to care?

Honestly, I don’t trust the official line that BPA is harmless. We just don’t have the facts. We have indicators that BPA isn’t necessarily a good thing, regardless of just how bad that really is.

However, I can’t condone the onslaught of negative publicity BPA is getting on the same basis. We just don’t have the facts. We have indicators and suggestions. That includes the attacks on specific products like Nalgene by TreeHugger (of the best intentions I know) who at least updated their article with a note that, “Nalgene no longer sells water bottles made with Bisphenol A. Number 7 as a plastic type means any plastic that is not in the first six, so having number 7 on the bottom does not necessarily mean that it contains BPA.”

What do I think? In light of the fact that there are now many BPA-free bottles on the market and many bottle manufacturers are getting rid of their polycarbonate bottles with BPA entirely, why risk it? Harmful or not the public spoke and we got a chance to see the free market in action. Eventually we’ll know whether the outcrys against BPA were well founded or not.

Personally while I think plastic is an amazing human invention, sometimes humans are bit overeager to use chemicals to solve the worlds problems. And historically speaking that hasn’t always worked out for the best. So let’s just say, I would err on the side of caution.

And erring on the side of caution, CoTradeCo has opted to quit selling water bottles that contain BPA. However, if you want to take the risk, and demand it, we’ll dig on out for you.

In closing I leave you with this impassioned plea in the letters and comments section at U.S. News & World Report .

Study of Chemical in Plastic Bottles Raises Alarm and several reports released recently may cause confusion and unnecessary alarm about Bisphenol-A (BPA) [usnews.com].

The National Toxicology Program report indicated that the effects of BPA produced negligible risk, the government’s lowest possible risk ranking. In fact, the U.S. government has studied the health effects of BPA exposure for more than 40 years, and the overwhelming body of scientific evidence continues to prove that actual exposure as found in some consumer food and beverage containers has no adverse effect on humans of all ages. The FDA, the European Food Safety Authority Authority and the World Health Organization have all evaluated and approved the safety of minimal amounts of BPA used in plastic containers. Consumers can rest assured and continue to safely enjoy foods and beverages in the many forms of packaging provided without changing their purchasing or eating patterns. The food and beverage industry continues to monitor research and regulatory developments related to food packaging to ensure consumer confidence in our products. We remain dedicated to providing high quality and safe products to our consumers across America and will continue to evaluate the safety of BPA on an ongoing basis.

Robert E. Brackett, Senior Vice President and Chief Science & Regulatory Affairs Officer, Grocery Manufacturers Association

Consider me rest assured and still be BPA-free.

http://flickr.com/photos/xerostomia/324460847/ image used under a
Creative Commons License
courtesy of Rob!’s at Flickr

I had to use this image. A glowing water bottle was just perfect for an article about the evils of water bottles! Bad water bottle, bad.

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