What is BPA?
Bisphenol A, BPA, is a chemical that is a key element in making polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastic is used in plastic food and beverage containers as well as in baby bottles and formula containers. Epoxy resins are used as coatings in metal food and beverage containers.
BPA is a controversial substance that has been widely used since the 1960s. BPA usage is a rising issue due to the effects of BPA exposure which numerous studieshave shown causes several life altering results.
These are some of the long-term effects of BPA exposure:
- Brain, behavioral and prostate gland damage of fetuses, infants and children
- Mammary gland alterations
- Increases in pre-cancerous lesions and situ tumors
- Early onset puberty
- Low birth weight
- Low material weight
- Increases in miscarriages
- Direct damage to the DNA
- Decrease in effectiveness of chemotherapy
An alarming study by Statistics Canadarevealed that 91% of Canadians tested positive for BPA in their urine. Children, 6 to 11, had the highest level. Pregnant woman also had high levels of BPA in their blood and urine.
With reoccurring concerns and new results, the FDA is taking precautions and is accepting any additional results from new studies from government and non-government facilities. The FDA and National Center for Toxicological Research is conducting its own experiments focusing on the above areas of concern.
What are the health effects of BPA on children?
Pregnant women, children, infants and fetuses are the main focus in studies on the effects of BPA.Pregnant women tested for BPA, all had high BPA levels in urine and blood. A study done by B. Balakrishnan and other researchers revealed that BPA seeps into the human placenta during pregnancy. BPA was found to be five times more concentrated in the amniotic fluid. This resulted in fetuses, as well as infants, testing positive for BPA. Since infants and fetuses are still developing and more vulnerable, they are in a higher risk category than adults.
Though not yet tested on humans, when tests were done on mice and rats, BPA exposure affectedbrain, prostate and behavioral development. Other exposure results included early onset puberty and alternative mammary gland gene expression.
Because of the long-term risks of BPA, the push to ban or eliminate BPA use is rising. For example, one way babies are exposed to BPA is through baby bottles and baby formula containers. Formula in liquid form contains higher BPA levels than formula in power form. This is because liquid formula is stored in plastic containersmade with polycarbonate plastic (a derivative of BPA). Metal cans, in which powdered formula is stored, contain epoxy resin liningswhich contain BPA, but in lower levels than polycarbonate plastics. Many states, countries and manufactures have taken the initiative to either ban BPA baby bottles or label bottles BPA-free.
Canada is the first country to ban BPA usage in the production of baby bottles and to list BPA as a toxic substance. Other countries are following Canada’s lead to decrease, limit or eliminate the use of BPA.
What are the health effects of BPA on adults?
Due to rising concerns surrounding the effects of BPA exposure, the FDA is taking precautions and administering more studies and experiments to evaluate the long term effects of BPA exposure.
A study done by Peninsula Media School at the University of Eexter, UK, examined the U.S. population and focused on one group with high levels of BPA and a second group with low levels of BPA. The group with high levels of BPA was more likely to have heart disease, diabetes and abnormal liver enzymes.
Oneof the biggest concerns in the BPA controversy is that BPA exposure causes breast cancer. Studies performed on breast cancer tissue showed that BPA exposure causesabnormal cell growth and proliferation. Abnormal cell growth can result in increases in pre-cancerous lesions and situ tumors after BPA prenatal exposure. Since there is evidence that BPA increasesabnormal cell growth causing cancer, it is considered to increase the chances of getting breast cancer. Not only can BPA increase the chances of cancer but BPA has also been shown to decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy. In turn, if a person has high levels of BPA and is diagnosed with cancer, the chemotherapy may not work as well as it would on a person with lower BPA levels.
A study conducted by the FDAconcluded that BPA can affect libido in adult men. The men studied were exposed to high amounts of BPA and worked in factories that dealt with BPA. BPA has been proven to mimic estrogen; causing reproductive abnormalities,a higher risk of prostate cancer and diabetes as well as decreasing libido.
Though not as vulnerable to the effects of BPA as fetuses and children, adults are still at risk to the harmful effects of BPA exposure.
Resources:
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/chemicals-glossary/bisphenol-a.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100112201341.htm
Iso T, Watanabe T, Iwamoto T, et al. (2006). DNA damage caused by bisphenol A and estradiol through estrogenic activity. Biol Pharm Bull, 29:206-210
Watson CS, Bulayeva NN, Wozniak AL, et al. (2005). Signaling from the membrane via membrane estrogen receptor-alpha: Estrogens, xenoestrogens, and phytoestrogens. Steroids, 70:364-371.