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

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