bisphenol A

In the chemical family: Bisphenol A & BADGE

Bisphenol a (BPA), a synthetic estrogen used to harden polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resin, is the focus of a growing number of research studies and legislative actions, reflecting mounting scientific evidence that it causes serious and sometimes irreversible damage to health, even at the low doses to which people are routinely exposed. An estimated 6 billion pounds of BPA are produced globally annually, generating about $6 billion in sales. It is fabricated into thousands of products made of hard, clear polycarbonate plastics and tough epoxy resins, including safety equipment, eyeglasses, computer and cell phone casings, water and beverage bottles and epoxy paint and coatings. But BPA-based plastics break down readily, particularly when heated or washed with strong detergent.

In laboratory tests, trace BPA exposure has been shown to disrupt the endocrine system and trigger a wide variety of disorders, including chromosomal and reproductive system abnormalities, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity and resistance to chemotherapy.

In March 2007, Environmental Working Group published a ground-breaking study documenting that BPA had leached from epoxy can linings into more than half the canned foods, beverages and canned liquid infant formula randomly purchased at supermarkets around the country. The EWG study, the first of its kind, helped explain why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had found detectable levels of BPA in the urine of 93 percent of Americans over the age of six. In the absence of any U.S. regulation on BPA contamination of food, EWG has published an online guide to baby-safe bottles and formula.

Also, EWG disclosed that Sciences International, a contractor hired to oversee a new assessment of BPA for the National Institute of Health’s National Toxicology Program (NTP) had also worked for Dow Chemical Co., a major BPA manufacturer. This discovery led to Congressional inquiries and forced reform of the NTP process, leading to a landmark NTP assessment, issued in September 2008, asserting BPA at current human exposure levels may be toxic to the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. In response, attorneys general from Connecticut New Jersey and Delaware called on infant formula and baby bottle-makers to stop using BPA. The Canadian government banned BPA in baby bottles and called for voluntary reductions of the chemical in cans of infant formula and other foods. The California state assembly narrowly rejected a proposal to ban BPA statewide.

Faced with rising consumer demand for safe plastics, manufacturers like Nalgene, Camelbak and Playtex offered non-BPA bottles, and Wal-Mart, Toys"R"Us and other retail giants said they would discontinue sales of BPA-based plastic baby bottles, sippy cups and other food containers.

Even so, the federal Food and Drug Administration took the position that BPA in food packaging, baby bottles and drink bottles posed no risks, even to infants and children. This stance triggered a stinging rebuke from the agency’s outside Science Board, which on Oct. 31, 2008, castigated FDA officials for relying on chemical industry research and disregarding scores of independent scientists who had raised disturbing questions about the chemical.

In the final weeks of the Bush administration, FDA managers initiated another round of research, a move that critics dismissed as a delaying tactic that served the chemical industry’s interest. “What is it that we don’t know?” said University of Missouri biologist Frederick Vom Saal, head of a research team that pioneered research on low-dose BPA toxicity. “You can always find out something else, but basically, we know enough to take action now. There is a reasonable certainty of harm.”

EWG renewed its pressure on infant formula and canned food manufacturers to use non-BPA food packaging.

State and local legislators and policymakers frustrated with Washington's slow pace introduced local and state ordinances to ban BPA in products for children. On March 2, 2009, California state senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) introduced a bill prohibiting the manufacture of any BPA-laden bottle or cup for children 3 and under. Two days later, the Suffolk County, NY, voted to ban BPA-based plastic bottles and cups.

On March 5 came the biggest breakthrough yet: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced that 6 major companies -- Avent, Disney First Years, Gerber, Dr. Brown, Playtex and Evenflow -- had volunteered to stop using BPA-based plastic in baby bottles made for the U.S. market. Blumenthal, who, with his counterparts in Delaware and New Jersey, had negotiated the deal with the bottle makers, said he would follow up by pressing for state legislation to ban BPA in infant formula cans, baby food containers and other food packaging and products marketed for infants and toddlers. "This is a good first step, but the last thing we want is contaminated infant formula going into a safe bottle," Blumenthal said. "We need to replace bisphenol A with safer solutions in all food containers as soon as possible.

Ultimately, EWG and its allies in the scientific, health, consumer advocacy and environmental fields are working for a more comprehensive approach, embodied in the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act,to preventing industrial chemicals from contaminating food, water and the environment. Under current law, even when presented with compelling and rigorous scientific studies, regulators become mired for years, even decades, in draining skirmishes with the U.S. chemical industry, which generates $664 billion in annual global sales and boasts a hand in 96 percent of U.S. manufactured goods. The Kid-Safe act would require manufacturers to prove that chemicals are safe BEFORE they are allowed on the market.

For a complete timeline of the BPA controversy, click here.

Health Effects related to bisphenol A: Birth or developmental effects, Cancer, Endocrine system, Reproduction and fertility

Routes of Exposure related to bisphenol A:

• Consumer products: polycarbonate plastics
• Environment
• Food: baby food, canned food linings
• Found in people
• Water

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