BPA-Free Plastic Still Poses Risk

Bisphenol-A, commonly known as BPA, is a problem chemical that is used to make plastics and the epoxy "glues" that coat cans. Until very recently, North American manufacturers used over two billion pounds (850 million kilos) of BPA every year to make plastic bottles, "tin" cans, flame retardant fabrics, sports equipment, dental fillings, and even implantable medical devices such as artificial hips. Because BPA is used to make food containers, there is BPA in most canned foods and bottled drinks. 

What's the downside to BPA?

In children, BPA levels are associated with attention deficit disorder. Because BPA interact with receptors on the surfaces of cells in much the same way as estrogen, it may interfere with sexual maturation of boys and girls, delaying puberty in boys and accelerating puberty in girls, and it may lower sperm counts in adult men. BPA has been associated with increased rates of asthma, diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, obesity, and infertility, all diseases that have become much more common since the chemical has been used on a wide scale. 

Is BPA really dangerous?

The US Food and Drug Administration still insists that BPA isn't really a problem chemical. If you access the material safety data sheet for BPA (actually for its most common form, bisphenol A dimethacrylate, there's "no information available" for the concentration of the chemical that is potentially toxic or lethal, and no information about potential problems from long-term exposure. State regulatory agencies tend to ignore BPA, too. Even California's Proposition 65, which regulates many of the substances found in consumer products, has nothing to say about BPA.

That doesn't mean that experts believe BPA is safe. The Endocrine Society, for example, issued a statement that the FDA had simply ignored important research regarding the safety of the chemical.

An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association notes that exposure to BPA at plastic plants is a common cause of erectile dysfunction (ED). Studies of animals find that exposure to BPA reduces the brain's sensitivity to dopamine, so that more food and more sex are needed for the same sense of satisfaction. There is evidence that BPA can interfere with the action of thyroid hormone, but not so much that people get treatment. They simply have a mild, subclinical form of hypothyroidism that makes them prone to gain weight. In animals, exposure to BPA results in feminine behaviors in adult males, as well as weight gain in female patterns (larger breasts and hips).

READ Widely Used Plastics Chemical BPA Linked to Rise in Hormone Levels in Men

There's little doubt that we need to reduce exposure to BPA, at least among scientists. However, that doesn't mean that BPA-free plastics aren't also problematic.

Problems With BPA Also Found In BPA-Free Plastics

For a number of years. Dr. Nancy Wayne, a reproductive endocrinologist and a professor of physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles, couldn't find money for her BPA research. She had been among the first researchers to publicize the dangers of BPA, but with the FDA's backing of the plastics industry, there just wasn't any money for further research. Then into her laboratory came Wenhui Qiu, a visiting graduate student from Shanghai University who wanted to study BPA and embryo development. Qiu's research was funded by the Chinese government.

Qiu wanted to compare the effects of BPA and BPA-free plastics on embryonic development. If simply removing BPA from plastics is enough, then embryos that are not exposed to BPA should be free of defects found in embryos that are exposed to BPA. This kind of study can't be conducted on human embryos, of course. Qiu chose to observe the effects of the chemical on zebrafish embryos, which develop in a clear egg sac that allows for easy observation.

Qiu exposed zebrafish embryos to the concentrations of either BPA or BPS that would be found in a polluted river. The effects on the fish were the same.

Zebrafish Aren't People, American Chemical Society Says

Scientific groups with ties to the plastics industry are understandably skeptical of the  results of zebrafish studies. After all, human embryos don't grow in contact with polluted water. We don't know how much BPA or BPS actually reaches the developing baby. There isn't any real evidence that either BPA or BPS is "toxic," they say, in the sense that they will kill you right away, and there isn't even evidence that they accumulate in a human body before birth.

There will never be evidence of this, for the simple reason that one cannot remove the baby to take tissue samples before birth. Between limitations of funding and limitations of ethics, much a research into the effects of these chemicals will never be done.

READ FDA Urged to Ban BPA Found In Plastics Due to Its Links To Heart, Diabetes and Liver Problems

 There is enough evidence that avoiding both BPA and BPS is probably a good idea for the general health of children and the sexual  health of adults, especially when abnormalities of the sex organs (such as small testicles and small penises in men), infertility, and sexual performance are concerns. To do this:

• Avoid all plastic beverage containers, especially those stored under hot conditions. Never leave a water bottle in a hot car.
• Avoid canned food, and food sealed in foil containers.
• Take food out of its plastic container before placing it in the microwave.
• Buy beverages that are bottled in glass, not plastic, especially acid beverages (juice) and carbonated soft drinks.

These simple changes won't make up for a lifetime of exposure to BPA, but they will stop the chemical from accumulating. It's never too late for adults to start eating and drinking healthy, and it's never too early to protect children from environmental toxins.