Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Huffington Post
One night not too long ago, as my wife Katherine and I settled into the kitchen to make some pasta sauce, I reached into the cupboard for a can of our favorite organic, fire-roasted tomatoes. These tomatoes were expensive, and, we'd always thought, entirely worth it.
Like many such products, the tomatoes were packed in a can that came with a full array of marketing cues: plump fruit ripening on the vine; the word "organic" splashed not just across the top of the can but emblazoned in the (now-ubiquitous) USDA organic logo below as well. Another line boasted that the can was packed in "lead-free" enamel. Clearly, the company's marketing department had figured out that -- for a certain segment of shoppers, anyway -- what is left out of a product is as important as what is put in.
On a whim, Katherine decided to put a call into the company anyway. She had been hearing that many canned fruits and vegetables were packed in cans lined with Bisphenol A, a plastic that is a known hormone disruptor. At the time, a couple of years ago, BPA had been in the news a lot: reports had been surfacing, for example, that the chemical leaked from plastic baby bottles into breast milk. Studies were emerging that consistently linked the chemical to breast cancer, testicular cancer, and a host of reproductive problems. A handful of states had become so alarmed by the chemical they had banned it outright (though, frustratingly, often only from products that wound up in baby's mouths)...[Full Article]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA
Fox News
Eating canned food every day may raise the levels of the compound bisphenol A (BPA) in a person's urine more than previously suspected, a new study suggests.
People who ate a serving of canned soup every day for five days had BPA levels of 20.8 micrograms per liter of urine, whereas people who instead ate fresh soup had levels of 1.1 micrograms per liter, according to the study. BPA is found in many canned foods — it is a byproduct of the chemicals used to prevent corrosion...[Full Article]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, canned foods
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
(AFP)
WASHINGTON — Male mice who were exposed as babies to BPA, a chemical common in canned foods and plastic containers, act more like females and are seen as less desirable mates, a US study showed Monday.
The findings could have implications for how BPA, or Bisphenol A, may affect human development and behavior, said the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"The BPA-exposed deer mice in our study look normal; there is nothing obviously wrong with them. Yet, they are clearly different," said lead author Cheryl Rosenfeld at the University of Missouri.
"Females do not want to mate with BPA-exposed male deer mice, and BPA-exposed males perform worse on spatial navigation tasks that assess their ability to find female partners in the wild."
Mother deer mice were fed a diet with levels of BPA that were proportional to the amount the US government considers safe for pregnant women to ingest...[Full Article]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, mice
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A potentially harmful chemical commonly found in plastic baby bottles is to be banned from their manufacture from next year.
Tests show that Bisphenol A (BPA) can leach from the bottle into any liquid it contains, with potentially damaging results. The organic compound is believed to affect development in young children.
The European Union yesterday approved the ban, which will come into effect in Europe next year...
[Full Article]Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, EU, European Union
Friday, October 29, 2010
A controversial chemical used for decades in the mass production of food containers and baby bottles has been linked to male infertility for the first time.
Bisphenol-A (BPA), known as the "gender bending" chemical because of its connection to male impotence, has now been shown to decrease sperm mobility and quality.
The findings are likely to increase pressure on governments around the world to follow Canada and ban the substance from our shelves.
BPA is used widely to make plastic harder and watertight tin cans.
It is found in most food and drink cans – including tins of infant formula milk – plastic food containers, and the casings of mobile phones, and other electronic goods.
It is also used in baby bottles though this is slowly being phased out.
BPA has been the subject of intense research as it is a known endocrine disrupter which in large quantities interferes with the release of hormones.
Earlier studies have linked it to low sex drive, impotence and DNA damage in sperm.
Now a new five year study claims to have found a link between levels of BPA in the blood and male fertility.
For their study of 514 workers in factories in China, researchers at Kaiser Permanente, a California-based research centre, found that men with higher urine BPA levels were two to four times more at risk of having poor semen quality, including low sperm concentration, low sperm vitality and mobility.
What is more the amount of the BPA in the blood seemed to be inversely proportional to sperm quality.
Even those with less than the national average BPA levels in America were effected, it was claimed.
"Compared with men without detectable urine BPA, those with detectable urine BPA had more than three times the risk of lowered sperm concentration and lower sperm vitality, more than four times the risk of a lower sperm count, and more than twice the risk of lower sperm motility," said study lead author Dr De-Kun Li...
[Full Article]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, eugenics, fertility, sterility, sterilization
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
But pregnant women should put off dental work until after baby is born
Widely used dental sealants and tooth repair resins contain substances that degrade into the controversial chemical BPA, but dentists can use the product safely in kids if they make sure to wipe or rinse away residue after treatment, a new study concludes. Pregnant women, however, might do better to wait until after delivery.
The benefits of sealants in preventing kids’ cavities outweighed risks associated with bisphenol A, or BPA, the chemical linked to a host of health ills and banned by many plastic bottle manufacturers, researchers find in the report published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.
“People shouldn’t be scared by this,” said Dr. Burton Edelstein, chairman of social and behavioral sciences at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and a co-author on the study. “The amount of exposure is extremely low. And the layer that contains BPA can be wiped off with cotton or rinsed off with a stream of water that can then be suctioned away by the dental assistant.”
Vote: Should dentists inform parents that dental sealants contain BPA?
BPA sparked alarm after several studies linked the chemical to health problems, prompting many manufacturers of plastic bottles, particularly those used by children, to change their formulations to exclude the substance. In January, federal Food and Drug Administration officials called for more research on the chemical, explaining that the agency had “some concern about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate glands of fetuses, infants and children.”...
[Full Article][Webmaster - These are the same eugenicists that recommend fluoride for "dental health"...never mind the fact that fluoride was used by the Nazis to sterilize concentration camp inmates and make them docile. Also, fluoride has been show to lower IQ's and cause cancer. So I would be hard pressed to believe BPA is not harmful just because some eugenicist doctor/scientists say so.]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA
Dental sealants expose tens of millions of American children to the controversial chemical BPA, according to a new paper in the journal Pediatrics. It says that sealants contain derivatives of BPA, which metabolize to actual BPA when exposed to saliva. The exposure lasts up to three hours after the sealant is applied.
Sealants came into widespread use in the 1990s. The American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend them as an important way to prevent tooth and gum decay. A host of health problems are associated with decay. Dr. Philip Landrigan, one of the paper’s authors, agrees that those benefits outweigh the risk from BPA, but warns that doesn’t mean the chemical is safe.
“It is absolutely clear that bisphenol-A is a toxic chemical and an endocrine disruptor. We know this from studies in humans, and in animals,” says Landrigan, a pediatrician at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine who has spent decades studying the effects of chemicals on children.
BPA is used in many plastics and also widely used in the lining of metal cans. It has been under scrutiny for possible links to a variety of health problems, including heart disease in adults and developmental problems in young children. Because it mimics the hormone estrogen, some physicians say it can cause disruption at very small doses. Dr. Abby Fleisch of Children’s Hospital in Boston, the lead author of the Pediatrics paper, says it’s unclear how much BPA children generally absorb from the sealants...
[Full Article]Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA
The research has been going on for more than 10 years. Studies number in the hundreds. Millions of dollars have been spent. But government health officials still cannot decide whether the chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, a component of some plastics, is safe. The substance lines most food and drink cans, and is used to make hard, clear plastic bottles, containers and countless other products. Nearly everyone is exposed to it.
Concerns about BPA stem from studies in lab animals and cell cultures showing it can mimic the hormone estrogen. It is considered an “endocrine disruptor,” a term applied to chemicals that can act like hormones. But whether it does any harm in people is unclear...
[Full Article]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
[UPI.com]
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 9 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says decreased sperm and damaged sperm may be linked to a chemical used in plastics.
Lead author John Meeker of the University of Michigan School of Public Health at Ann Arbor says exposure to the chemical -- Bisphenol A also known as BPA and commonly used to coat food and beverage cans -- can be measured by checking concentration levels in the urine.
Some contend, Meeker says, BPA mimics human hormones and may negatively affect health.
Meeker and colleagues compared men in the top quartile of exposure to BPA versus those in the lowest quartile of exposure. They found sperm concentration was, on average, about 23 percent lower in men with the highest BPA. Results also suggested a 10 percent increase in sperm DNA damage.
The study, published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology, suggests the findings are preliminary -- involving a small sample size of 190 men -- and more research needs to focus on BPA and the health effects in adults.
"Much of the focus for BPA is on the exposures in utero or in early life, which is of course extremely important, but this suggests exposure may also be a concern for adults," Meeker said in a statement. "Research should focus on impacts of exposure throughout multiple life stages."
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, damaged, decreased, sperm
By Beth Quimby bquimby@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection will hold a public hearing on whether to ban bisphenol A in baby bottles and other reusable food and beverage containers at 1 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Holiday Inn and Ground Round, 110 Community Drive, Augusta.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has proposed banning the chemical, also known as BPA, from polycarbonate plastics products such as sippy cups. The chemical has been shown to disrupt hormone flows in animal studies and has been banned in other states.
Environmental groups in Maine have been urging their members to attend the hearing. Maine’s Toxics Center has scheduled an event about the dangers of exposure to BPA at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Lobsterman’s Park at the corner of Middle and Temple streets, Portland.
More information about the possible ban is available on the DEP website...
[Full Article]Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, Maine
The chemical is found in plastic bottles, food can liners and on receipts. But the risks from exposure are unclear.
Concerns about the chemical bisphenol A and its potential health risks have led many consumers to be more careful about the containers they use to carry drinking water and feed their babies. The market has responded with water bottles labeled "BPA-free."
And then, in late July, the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, reported that high amounts of BPA are present in everyday cash register receipts, as much as 3% of the total weight of the receipt.
Certainly, there would be real concerns if the bisphenol A on receipts readily sloughs off onto the fingers of cashiers and buyers, penetrates several layers of skin and enters the bloodstream at potentially toxic levels, says Kristina Thayer, a scientist at the National Toxicology Program, an interagency group charged with evaluating toxic chemicals. However, she added, no scientific study has even looked for such a pathway...
[Full Article]
Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA
Thursday, August 5, 2010
A ‘gender bending’ chemical in food and drinks containers could be behind rising male infertility, scientists say.
Men with high levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their bodies are more likely to have low sperm counts, according to a study.
BPA is widely used to harden plastics and is found in baby bottles, CD cases, plastic knives and forks and the lining of food and drink cans.
The chemical mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen and interferes with the way hormones are processed by the body.
Although some animal studies have shown it is safe, others have linked it to breast cancer, liver damage, obesity, diabetes and fertility problems.
Experts estimate BPA is detectable in more than 90 per cent of people...
[Full Article]Labels: Bisphenol A, BPA, fertility
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