BPA Alternative Proves Just as Bad.

Researchers have determined that a chemical that has been used as a substitue for BPA might be even more harmful than BPA itself. 

University of Calgary scientists say they think their research is the first to show that bisphenol-S, an ingredient in many products bearing “BPA-free” labels, causes abnormal growth surges of neurons in an animal embryo. The same surges were also found with BPA, though not at the same levels as with BPS, prompting the scientists to suggest that all structurally similar compounds now in use or considered for use by plastic manufacturers are unsafe.

BPA and its alternatives are found in many polycarbonate plastics as well as the linings of food cans and register receipts. The chemical an endocrine disruptor, which mimics estrogen, and has been linked by many studies to prostate cancer, infertility, asthma, heart disease and a number of neurodevelopmental disorders. Researchers found, in this study, that BPA and BPS (the alternative) specifically affected male brain growth potentially indicating why more boys are diagnosed with autism. “Finding the mechanism linking low doses of BPA (or BPS) to adverse brain development and hyperactivity is almost like finding a smoking gun,” Hamid Habibi, one of the authors of the study, said in a news release.

Read more about it in the Washington Post

From CNN: 5 toxins that are everywhere

A growing body of research is linking five chemicals -- among the most common in the world -- to a host of ailments, including cancer, sexual problems and behavioral issues.

We encounter them every day -- in plastic bottles, storage containers, food wrap, cans, cookware, appliances, carpets, shower curtains, clothes, personal care products, furniture, television sets, electronics, bedding, cushions and mattresses. In short, every room in almost every house in the United States is likely to contain at least one of these chemicals, many of which did not exist a century ago.

They are bisphenol A, or BPA; phthalates; PFOA; formaldehyde; and polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PDBEs. Tests reveal most of us now carry them in our bodies, but are they putting our health -- and the health of our children -- in jeopardy?

Read more of this great toxins 'primer' at CNN

More on DNA mutating plastics, plus a great headline...

"USCC Fights to Keep Potentially Penis-Deforming Chemicals in Our Plastic"

As ThinkProgress reported yesterday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — one of the largest and most influential big business lobbying groups in the world — fired a letter off to Cass Sunstein, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, telling him to block the regulation of extremely toxic chemicals in consumer plastics. Despite the overwhelming evidence of the dangers of such chemicals, the chamber letter declares that that EPA “lacks the sound regulatory science needed to meet the statutory threshold for a restriction or ban of the targeted chemicals.”

A wide body of scientific research has linked these chemicals, including phthalates and Bisphenol A (BPA), to declining birth rates, stillbirths, and an increasing number of birth defects. Many of the chemicals under review for increased regulation have already been banned in Europe and Canada.

Read the full article at thinkprogress.org

BPA-Free Receipts: Fast Food Chains Make The Switch

But is this enough? As we have learned recently, BPA alternatives are no better and possibly worse. Lets hope there is some more research on this issue.

Yum! Brands, the fast-food megabrand that includes Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, has announced this week it will switch to BPA-free receipts...

...An investigation by the Environmental Working Group found BPA on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses like McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway -- even the post office. (Whole Foods has since gone BPA-free).

Read the full article at the HuffPo.

BPA-free is not what it's cracked up to be

...Appleton, a specialty paper company, markets a BPA-free thermal paper that uses Bisphenol S instead. The Environmental Protection Agency has a voluntary program that is evaluating BPS and 17 other possible substitutes for thermal paper, but has not yet completed its analysis. Until it does, it will not endorse any alternatives.

In the few, limited tests conducted outside the United States, BPS shows estrogenic activity — not as strong as BPA, but not a good sign. BPS is now used in the United States to make PES (polyethersulfone) plastic. Some baby bottles marketed as BPA-free use PES plastic....

....Bisphenols are shaping up to be a dysfunctional family of chemicals. BPAF is BPA’s fluorinated twin. It is used in electronic devices, optical fibers and more. New studies have found BPAF to be an even more potent endocrine disrupter than BPA. Bisphenol B and Bisphenol F are other variants used instead of BPA in various products. In the limited testing done on those chemicals in other countries, scientists found Bisphenol B to be more potent than BPA in stimulating breast cancer cells.

Read the rest of this great opinion piece in the NYT website

Plastic bottles raise hormonal activity of bottled spring water

Plastic bottles can further contaminate natural spring water with estrogen active compounds, report researchers who tested and compared water from the same sources but was bottled in either glass or plastic.

The water in the plastic containers triggered up to 90 percent more activity in the human cell assays used than the water in the glass containers. Hormone activity was measured by the increase in growth rate of the exposed human breast cancer cells – which are sensitive to estrogen hormones.

The results suggest that some springs used by water bottlers initially contain estrogenic chemicals, but the process of bottling in plastic further increases the waters estrogenic potential.

Read the synopsis at Environmental News Network

Or the full article in The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

BPA found in 40% of Cash Register Receipts

Source: Flickr/functoruser

Laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG) have found high levels of the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses and services, including outlets of McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway and the U.S. Postal Service. Receipts from Target, Starbucks, Bank of America ATMs and other important enterprises were BPA-free or contained only trace amounts.

The total amounts of BPA on receipts tested were 250 to 1,000 times greater than other, more widely discussed sources of BPA exposure, including canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula...

BPA, a plastic hardener and synthetic estrogen linked by researchers to a long list of serious health problems, is used to coat thermal paper used by major retailers, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, fast-food restaurants, post offices and automatic teller machines (ATMs). The chemical reacts with dye to form black print on receipts handled by millions of Americans every day...

Wipe tests conducted by the lab easily removed BPA, indicating that the chemical could rub off on the hands of a person handling the receipt.

Scientists have not determined how much of a receipt's BPA coating can transfer to the skin and from there into the body. A study published July 11 by scientists with the Official Food Control Authority of the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland found that BPA transfers readily from receipts to skin and can penetrate the skin to such a depth that it cannot be washed off. This raises the possibility that the chemical infiltrates the skin's lower layers to enter the bloodstream directly.

Read the full press release at EWG.org

Or read the results of the Swiss study in the science journal, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, by Sandra Biedermann, et al.

Obesogens!

 

...Hidden chemicals, called obesogens, are the building blocks of everyday household items. Researchers say they're wreaking havoc on our bodies by disrupting our hormonal systems, which affect fat cells and gene function."Certain cells that would normally differentiate into cells that would develop into, say, muscle tissue, or connective tissue, would change and develop into fat tissue or fat cells," said Dr. Theresa Piotrowski, medical director of Lahey Clinic's Medical and Surgical Weight Loss Center.

Obesogens include now infamous bisphenol-A, or BPA, phthalates, which are synthetic chemicals found in plastics, and Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is found in non-stick and stain resistant products. Obesogens are also found in plastic shower curtains, canned goods, and cosmetics."Endocrine disruptors are seen a lot in PVC plastics, a lot of kids toys, some household goods, building products, even pet toys," said Mia Davis, organizing director at Clean Water Action.

Studies have shown that 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies and that 75 percent have detectable levels of phthalates in their urine."It can take very, very low doses, the relevant doses that we're all exposed to, to cause a reaction," said Davis...

Read more at thebostonchannel.com

Canadian phthalates to be banned from baby products and restricted in children's products

Photograph by: Handout, CNS from Vancouver Sun

...Health Canada found the widespread presence of phthalates in these children's items, despite a decade-long voluntary ban in North America.

According to the test results released to Postmedia News under access-to-information legislation, three-quarters (54 of 72) of soft plastic toys and other items for young children contained up to 39.9 per cent by weight of PVC...

Full article By Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia News/ Vancouver Sun

See also: Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects our Health by Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence Canada

Replacement for BPA is also found to have negative health effects

An animal study finds for the first time that another widely used phthalate affects development when exposure occurs in the womb and early life. It is also the first to show the chemical can affect brain development, too. DINP – a phthalate that is increasingly used in plastic products – caused similar changes in the male reproductive system as other types of recently banned – but more potent – phthalates.

Synopsis by Emily Barrett and Wendy Hessler from Environmental Health News

Original article in the science journal Reproductive Toxicology