BPA (Revisited)

I wrote the following blog last September 11, 2009:

Are baby bottles safe?



We’ve all seen civil and criminal trials on TV, whether fictional or real. Each opposing team will call their expert witnesses. These witnesses are no “men/women off the street”. They are highly qualified individuals with a zillion letters after their names. Yet, given the same data, they arrive at totally different conclusions. Who are we suppose to believe?

So, in our daily lives, who do we believe what is safe or harmful?

I decided to do a little research of my own on the safety of Bisphenol A, otherwise known as BPA. I’ve been reading reports all week. BPA is either totally, totally safe or one drop will turn your child into a mutant. Clear on that? OK, let’s get in a little deeper.

BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical produced in large quantities in our society. It’s used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. The polycarbonate plastics are used in food packaging, water and infant bottles and medical devices among other products. Containers will usually have the symbol “7” or “PC” on it. The epoxy resins are used to coat metal products like food cans. It’s the use in baby bottles that has created the most controversy.

In my quest for answers, I first researched where and who any report was generated. Once this is known, it’s fairly simple to guess what conclusions will be reached.

The report I found to have the least bias was issued by the National Toxicology Program, a division of the National Institute of Health. The website for this and other reports is http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/media/questions/sya-bpa.cfm.


In short, they found Some Concern for effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland in fetuses, infant and children at current human exposures to BPA. On a scale on 1 to 5, Some Concern is a 3.

So, read the report and make you own decisions. My thoughts. When it comes to our children, some concern is enough. It’s also enough for some manufacturers. We are starting to see labels stating “BPA-Free”.

This is what I love about living in this society of ours. We always have the right to question.
 
So now, an update.
According to the Washington Post, CBS News and other news agencies, the Food and Drug Administration is reversing itself. Instead of stating BPA is not harmful, there is "some concern". It has based its earlier statements totally on studies made by the chemical industry. It will be conducting their own tests.
 
Hey. Shouldn't they be doing that all along? Oh, well; let's look ahead. This means more serious studies will be made. It has already been documented that 90% of the population has BPA in their urine. BPA is a synthetic estrogen; just what we need to supply growing babies and children.
 
Grass roots movements do work. You see more and more baby bottles being advertised as "BPA Free". There's always a better way; and we will find it.