The Problem With Plastic
Published May 7, 2008
May 6, 2008 -- You use them every day: water bottles, food containers, baby bottles. The plastic saves us time, money and a lot of broken glass. But, is this convenience toxic to our health?
Scientists have been debating the safety of some chemicals used to make certain plastics for years now. The debate is really heating up when it comes to the plastics that come in contact with food.
Sarah Reid is trying to get the plastic out of her family's diet. She says, "We try to identify where we use plastics, and if there's an alternative available, we use that, or if we avoid it altogether."
The mother of one is concerned about the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA. It makes plastics hard and clear and is found in certain baby bottles, water bottles, food storage containers and in the lining of canned foods. Reid says, "Just knowing we could be eating plastic particles is just sort of gross when you think about it."
Some say it's even potentially harmful to your health. Studies have shown BPA can mimic the hormone estrogen and possibly lead to problems, like prostate and breast cancer, an early onset of puberty and developmental problems in infants.
Sam Beattie, the Food and Safety Extension Specialist at Iowa State University says, "Some may have ability to leach into product. They may leach into product, but the health significance is of question." Beattie says scientists agree that the chemical will find it's way into your food and infant formula, especially if it's heated in plastic. But, he says it's not enough to cause any health problems.
He says, "What we look at is the total daily intake of some of these from our foods and what we find is that they're way below what we would consider a concern."
Beattie says scientists gave high doses of the chemical to animals. He says it's more than any human would ever be exposed to. "And, animals, or the animals that they use, rats and rodents, can be extremely sensitive to these compounds and the amounts they were feeding these animals was pretty high."
But, a report out last month from the National Institutes of Health Toxicology Program says the chemical could possibly affect human development and reproduction. It was enough for the Canadian Government to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles. An official says, "We have concluded it is better safe than sorry."
Retailers like Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us followed, promising to pull the bottles off their shelves. The concern is since infants are smaller, the chemical might affect them more than adults. But, Beattie, who has two young children, says he isn't worried after studying the report. He says, "There is no need for panic. The amounts in our foods are very low. The tolerable daily intake is much greater than that, and we would not be concerned."
But, Reid still is. She is now using glass containers to store and re-heat her leftovers. And, her family re-fills their water in stainless steel Sigg water bottles. She says, "I don't think it's worth throwing away all your plastics and moving to a mountain top somewhere to never be exposed to plastic. I think it does behoove people to stop and think which types of plastic might be more harmful and try to avoid those."
If you are concerned, a non profit organization called The Environmental Working Group says you can take a few steps to limit your exposure to BPA. The group says to look at the recycling symbol on the bottom of your bottle or bowl. If it has a 7, that means it's probably a polycarbonate bottle and made with BPA. Also, avoid heating your food in plastic containers. Finally, the group says pregnant women and babies should eat as little food as possible from cans, since canned food is our biggest daily source of BPA.
ISU expert Sam Beattie says those steps aren't necessary, just follow the plastic manufacturer's instructions and use the plastic for it's intended use.
The Food and Drug Administration has been keeping a close eye on BPA since 2007. They have said it's safe at our current level of exposure, but are now reviewing it again.
