Bisphenol A is a plastic chemical additive found in a lot of products, from baby bottles to canned food tins. Seven billion pounds of it are produced each year.
Chances
are, you're toting a little bisphenol A around. It's known to leach
from the packaging into food and drink. The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says 93 percent of Americans have detectable
amounts of it in their bodies.
This is a problem, because there is growing evidence that it can harm adult reproductive systems and infant development.
Research
has shown that bisphenol A—also known as BPA—can disrupt endocrine
function and harm prostate, uterine and brain function. A National
Institutes of Health study last year found that animals exposed to BPA
suffered uterine damage, which can lead to fibroids, endometriosis,
cystic ovaries and cancers in females.
A report in The Journal
of the American Medical Association established a tie between BPA
exposure and diabetes and liver and heart disease. BPA exposure can,
according to recent research, make chemotherapy less effective in
cancer patients.
Infants are most at risk: Their BPA exposure
can be 12 times higher than adults. Because BPA mimics the effects of
excess estrogen, it can damage the reproductive systems of developing
fetuses and infants.
Yet in August, the Food and Drug
Administration basically said: 'No problem here.' An FDA draft report
concluded that the substance was safe at typical exposure levels for
humans. That finding alarmed many scientists, and it got them mobilized.
In late October, an advisory panel to the FDA found fault with the
agency's conclusion. The panel said that the FDA had only considered
studies financed by the plastics industry and had ignored evidence of
the potential harm from BPA. The FDA created "a false sense of
security" about the safety of BPA, the panel said.
Apparently
the FDA seems to be getting the blunt message. The agency announced in
December that it would revisit the safety of BPA.
That's good,
as far as it goes. But other nations and private markets aren't waiting
for the FDA seal of approval, suspect as it is. Canada has banned BPA
from baby bottles. Many manufacturers have begun phasing it out of
products such as thermoses and water bottles. Some major retailers,
including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, plan to phase out products containing
BPA.
Now let's find out what's really going on with the FDA, which seems to be phasing out common sense.
