Before I write the Bisphenol stuff I wanted to mention this news article from last week about autism. http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080413/hl_hsn/muscleweaknessfoundinsomeautisticchildren;_ylt=Au9Tv5ZPHXLXSYPDDv5J3h7VJRIF
This article talks about a genetic disorder called a mitochondrial disorder which is made worse with mercury. The mercury causes Autism symptoms to develop. The scientist who did the research is going to present his results soon, I believe the article says.
Now for Bisphenol – This topic is very dear to my heart. As an environmentalist, I have researched this topic in reference to the effects on our animal species. Now, though, since I have children, I wanted to discuss how we can protect them from the effects of Bisphenol in plastics.
It is known that this chemical, Bisphenol, that is used in some plastics, is harmful. Bisphenol leaches from the plastics it is used in and contaminates our food and beverages. Canned food, canned formula, baby bottles, plastic dinner ware, and some tupperwares contain bisphenol. Some of the types of plastics leach Bisphenol regardless of if they are heated or not. Other plastics leach when heated like in a microwave or dishwasher. Bisphenol disrupts the cells in our bodies by becoming an estrogen mimic. Estrogen by itself is a very powerful carcinogen in large quantities. Now this chemical mimics estrogen in our bodies and can cause cancer (breast and prostate), early puberty, neurological disorders, Type II diabetes, ADHD and autoimmune disorders. I want to just show the ways that we can avoid using plastics with this chemical so that perhaps it never needs to be produced again. Besides avoiding the offending plastics in our lives, we also have to push for Bisphenol to not be manufactured. This is necessary because bisphenol leaches into our water supply and contaminates everything from our water to our soil to our fruits and vegetables and our meats. It is ever present in our food chain, however it isn’t necessary. DDT was removed from our food chain and in twenty years it was at almost undetectable levels in animals and humans. This is what we need to do with Bisphenol – make a ban against manufacturing and using it.
I want you to book mark this page because I am going to provide a chart from wikipedia about which plastics do not have bisphenol. The numbers refer to the little numbers inside the recycling triangle at the bottom of the carton. This chart is found at – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
The green color is the “ok to use” color. These plastics do not contain bisphenol.
Identification in Plastics
| Plastic Identification Code | Type of plastic polymer | Common Packaging Applications |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE) | Soft drink, water and salad dressing bottles; peanut butter and jam jars |
| 2 | High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) | Milk, juice and water bottles; yogurt and margarine tubs; trash and retail bags. |
| 3 | Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) | Juice bottles; cling films |
| 4 | Low Density Polyethylene(LDPE) | Frozen food bags; squeezable bottles, e.g. honey, mustard; cling films; flexible container lids. |
| 5 | Polypropylene (PP) | Reusable microwaveable ware; kitchenware; yogurt containers; margarine tubs; microwaveable disposable take-away containers; disposable cups and plates. |
| 6 | Polystyrene (PS) | Egg cartons; disposable cups, plates, trays and cutlery; disposable take-away containers; yogurt and margarine containers |
| 7 | Polycarbonate (PC) | Beverage bottles; baby milk bottles. |
There are seven groups of plastic polymers. These are the bad ones - Type 1 (PET), Type 6 (PS), Type 7 (polycarbonate and epoxy resins which are made from a Bisphenol A (BPA) monomer), and Type 3 (PVC). These are the ok ones – Type 2 (HDPE), Type 4 (LDPE), and Type 5 (PP).
There is a whole web page devoted to how bisphenol is not dangerous. There are government reports stating that research shows the leaching is below the EPA’s standards. But what they are not saying is that the EPA’s limit for allowable BPA (bisphenol a) in food is too high. At that rate, cancers, reproductive deformities, immunological disorders, and neurological symptoms do appear. The levels for adults are way to high for a child’s body. One study remarked on the EPA’s use of the word “weak” to describe BPA. “It is difficult to conceive how a chemical that can alter cell function at concentrations < 1 ppt can be characterized as a “weak” endocrine disruptor.” (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1280330) . I believe we are far past the time when we can trust the “allowable limits” that the EPA sets for poisons.
Besides pushing for a ban on Bisphenol, we should not use plastics that are labeled with anything other than 2, 4 or 5. All others could leach bisphenol and lead to, in the least, early puberty for our children and in the worst, cancers or autoimmune diseases. Saran wrap and canned food and soft drinks also contain Bisphenol in their coating. Studies have shown that these also leach into foods. The most shocking study found that baby formulas had toxic levels of bisphenol in the formula. The worst offenders were canned liquid formulas followed by powdered formulas in all metal cans. “An August 2007 investigation by EWG estimated that at BPA levels found in ready-to-eat liquid formula, 1 of every 16 infants fed the formula would be exposed to the chemical at doses exceeding those that caused harm in laboratory studies.” ( http://www.ewg.org/reports/infantformula). The formulas in cardboard cans with just a metal bottom had trace levels of bisphenols and formulas in the non bisphenol plastic bottles had no detectable amounts. One of the baby formulas with detectable levels of bisphenol was Earth’s Best, an organic baby food. It should also be noted that a new study released last week, showed that DHA in baby food and formula was processed by Martek with the toxic, highly explosive neurotoxic petrochemical solvent, hexane. (http://cornucopia.org/index.php/replacing-mother-infant-formula-report/). This is a chemical that is not allowed in organic food, yet Earth’s Best, Similac, and Organics all have this Martek DHA. DHA derived from fish oils can contain up to .025 ppm of mercury. So, I guess you might want to try the baby formulas in the plastic number 2, 4, or 5 , organic, and without DHA. Don’t you think our government agency that regulates this stuff , the FDA, should be doing a better job?
Bisphenol causes cancer (breast and prostate), autoimmune disorders, early puberty, and reproductive deformities. Bisphenol is also linked to Type II diabetes, ADHD, and Autism. SO , IT IS REALLY SHOCKING THAT IT IS ALLOWABLE IN BABY FORMULAS, BABY BOTTLES, AND BABY FOOD!
The following list of a few of the acknowledged studies done on the effects of bisphenol was copied from this page – http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/bisphenola/bpauses.htm .
“Some important recent studies of bisphenol A:
Experiments with rats demonstrate that low level exposure to bisphenol A during fetal growth causes breast cancer in adults. At all levels tested down to 2.5 parts per billion, BPA induced formation of aberrant cell growth patterns associated in rodents and people with breast cancer. Levels only 5 times higher than EPA’s current safe level caused carcinoma in situ. Using these results to set safety standards would radically reduce use of BPA in plastics and resins. More…
In uteroexposure to BPA causes long-term effects on mammary tissue development in rats, increasing risks to cancer, and also increases sensitivity to a chemical known to cause breast cancer. The study strengthens support for a link between increasing rates of breast cancer in recent decades and increasing exposure to estrogenic chemicals like BPA. It also indicates that human epidemiological studies that fail to incorporate developmental exposures can’t be trusted to identify cancer-causing agents. More…
Perinatal exposure to extremely low levels of bisphenol A causes precancerous prostate lesions in rats. These lesions, called prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, or PIN, are cancerous and are considered to be a precursor of metastatic prostate cancer in humans. One hundred percent of rats exposed perinatally and then, during adulthood, treated with estradiol and testosterone to create hormonal conditions analogous to thos of an ageing man, developed high-grade PIN. The effect appears to result from the failure in exposed animals of a gene to become hypermethylated as the rats aged. More…
Experiments with mice reveal that chronic adult exposure to bisphenol A causes insulin resistance. Insulin resistance in people leads to Type II diabetes and congestive heart failure, and is part of the modern epidemic of ‘metabolic syndrome.’ The exposure levels used were within the range that people experience regularly. More…
In a small prospective study, researchers in Japan report that bisphenol A levels are higher in women with a history of repeated spontaneous miscarriages.This research was based on proof that BPA causes meiotic aneuploidy in mice. Meiotic aneuploidy is the commonest cause of miscarriage in people. The researchers also followed the pregnancies of the women to completion, and found evidence of aneuploidy in several of the miscarried fetuses. More…
Bisphenol A and the birth control pharmaceutical ethinylestradiol cause adverse effects in prostate development in mice at levels to which millions of Americans are exposed each year. The results implicate these compounds in human prostate diseases, including prostate cancer. The research also shows the futility of predicting the developmental consequences of low-dose exposures based on high-dose experiments. More…
A flood of new information about bisphenol A revealing both widespread human exposure and effects at extremely low doses sparks a call for a new risk assessment of the ubiquitous compound. Bisphenol A, the basic building block of polycarbonate plastic, alters development of the reproductive tract, the immune system, increases prostate tumor proliferation, changes brain chemistry and structure and affects an array of behaviors, including hyperactivity. Of 11 studies of the compound’s effects at low doses, none funded by industry reported impacts. In contrast, 94 out of 104 government-funded studies found effects. This summary includes audio files of an international teleconference about bisphenol A. More…
Several ‘weakly’ estrogenic compounds including bisphenol A and endosulfan are as powerful as estrogen at increasing calcium influx into cells and stimulating prolactin secretion. The effects are mediated by a cell membrane surface receptor instead of nuclear hormone receptors, the focus of most studies to date. Changes in calcium and prolactin occur at extremely low doses, well within the range of human exposures. Wozniak, AL, NN Bulayeva and CS Watson. 2005. Xenoestrogens at Picomolar to Nanomolar Concentrations Trigger Membrane Estrogen Receptor-alpha-Mediated Ca++ Fluxes and Prolactin Release in GH3/B6 Pituitary Tumor Cells. Environmental Health Perspectives, in press.
Bisphenol A at extremely low levels causes changes in brain structure and behavior in rats. The locus coeruleus is believed to be a key brain center for anxiety and fear. Normally this is larger in females than in males. Rats exposed to BPA at levels beneath the current ‘safe’ exposure level established by the US EPA show a reversal in sex dimorphism, with males’ LC larger than females.’ . Kubo, K, O Arai, M Omura, R Wantanabe, R Ogata, and S Aou. 2003. Low dose effects of bisphenol A on sexual differentiation of the brain and behavior in rats. Neuroscience Research 45: 345-356.
Exposures to 1/5th the level considered safe are sufficient to alter maternal behavior in mice, including reductions in time spent nursing, increases in time resting away from offspring, and increases in time spent out of the nest. Palanza, P, KL Howdeshell, S Parmigiani and FS vom Saal. 2002. Exposure to a low dose of bisphenol A during fetal life or in adulthood alters maternal behavior in mice. Environmental Health Perspectives 110 (suppl 3): 415-422.
An accident in the lab, followed by careful analysis and a series of experiments, reveals that bisphenol A causes aneuploidy in mice at low levels of exposure. Because aneuploidy in humans causes spontaneous miscarriages and some 10-20% of all birth defects, including Down Syndrome, this implicates bisphenol A in a broad range of human developmental errors. Hunt, PA, KE Koehler, M Susiarjo, CA Hodges, A Ilagan, RC Voigt, S Thomas, BF Thomas and TJ Hassold. 2003. Bisphenol A exposure causes meiotic aneuploidy in the female mouse. Current Biology 13: 546-553.”
I hope some of this has been helpful in some way. Besides cans and plastic bottles, bisphenol is also used in the coating that dentists use to seal childrens’ teeth. SO, if your dentist says he wants to seal your child’s teeth, you probably don’t want that done. There are many other places where bisphenol is used, like vinyl flooring. There isn’t much you can do if your floor is vinyl, however, as far as the foods you eat – try to avoid soft drinks, canned foods, canned baby formulas, and food in bottles with the number 1, 3, 6, or 7. As with anything, moderation is probably the best. You don’t want to overload your body with Bisphenol because your body can’t get rid of it fast enough. And children are much smaller and chemicals’ reactions are much more profound. I, personally, tossed all the offending plastics and cans and switched the baby’s formula to a no DHA , no bisphenol formula.
